Deserving of Place and Purpose
by pirateboots
Summary: Sequel to Aimlessness and Inevitability and Return to the Unfamiliar. With the Ice Nation army on the tail, the Sky people must reach the refuge of Polis in time or risk annihilation. But even if they reach the Trigeda capital, they do not know what sort of welcome they will find, nor what other challenges may come. Clarke and Lexa must work harder than ever to keep everyone safe.
1. Chapter 1: 1 Foot in Front of the Grave

**Chapter One: One Foot in Front of the Grave**

Clarke kept trudging forward over roots, through shrubbery. She kept her head down, being careful not to trip on the uneven forest floor. It would be a potentially costly delay if she or anyone else were to injure themselves on the secret paths they were taking to Polis. Clarke risked a glance up. The evacuated residents of Camp Jaha all looked exhausted. Clarke felt a dull ache throughout her body, a growl in her empty stomach. But they could not stop and rest. The riders had said that the Ice Nation army was little more than two days away from Camp Jaha when they had left. If the army had somehow found out about the evacuation already, then it might well be right on their tail now. They could not afford to stop if they were to reach the refuge of Polis in time. So Clarke, Abby, even Lexa had when necessary found words of encouragement to will people forward. It was difficult to find such words when Clarke herself felt like she would give anything just to sit and breathe a while. Maybe catch a little sleep.

Gritting her teeth, Clarke kept going. She put one foot in front of the other and ignored the pain of blisters and the ache of tired muscles. If her people could see her be strong, then maybe they would be inspired to be too. Clarke let herself smile as she wondered how inspiring she must look. All dishevelled and unwashed after three days of marching almost without a stop. She lifted her head again to seek out Lexa in the crowd. Lexa had quickly sacrificed her own horse for two young teenagers to share, as they were too big for Aldrin's cart. Lexa was equally as dishevelled, but her face was almost serene and showed no signs of suffering. Lexa was a warrior and marching was in her blood.

Sensing Clarke's gaze, Lexa turned and met Clarke's stare as she moved. They exchanged a brief smile, a small moment of belonging even in the limbo of the forest. In the space between imminent danger and a potential safe haven. Clarke's smile dropped when she thought about how the rest of her people must feel. They had been forced to abandon the home that they had made on the ground to head towards an uncertain refuge. For her friends, it was the second home on Earth they had had to leave; the dropship first and now Camp Jaha.

That set Clarke apart from the rest of the Sky people. In contrast to their uncertainty, she was walking back to the place she thought of as home now. She had been struck by how unfamiliar Camp Jaha had felt to her when she had returned. Even though it was full of the people she loved and cared about. She'd found herself happy to be there, at least once her friends became willing to approach her. But still she also yearned to return to Polis. Of course, Clarke hadn't banked on the nature of her return being quite so sudden. Nor had she foreseen that she'd be leading the whole of Camp Jaha back with her to seek refuge from an impending attack. The last time she been heading towards Polis, it had been accidental, the pull of fate maybe, leading her back to Lexa. Now the journey was filled with purpose.

"The stroll is a bit more crowded than before, is it not?" Aldrin came and walked beside Clarke and she turned to acknowledge him. Though he spoke to her, he kept his eyes firmly planted on his Commander's back, always watching and protecting.

"Strange. I was just thinking the same. I never thought I'd be leading all my people to Polis."

"I thought Chancellor Griffin was leading them?" Aldrin asked with a sly smile. Clarke laughed. "Still you must be excited to show your people the city. If we can put our reason for taking them there to the back of our minds a moment, this journey is one filled with opportunity. How much more did you learn about the Trigeda after a few weeks in Polis? How much more did you respect it's people?"

"To answer both questions: a lot. I hope everyone else recognises those opportunities. If the Sky people are a formal member of the coalition now, they are going to have a lot to learn in a short amount of time. Sure feels like we are throwing them into the deep-end, though."

Aldrin glanced towards her and narrowed his eyes, "You talk about the Sky people as if you are no longer one of them."

Clarke considered her words. She could see Aldrin's point; "I'll always be Clarke of the Sky people. But Polis is my home. Besides, whilst I'll always do whatever it takes to protect them, that doesn't mean I'll ever feel ready to lead my people again. Right now, they need me, but if we get out of this I'll be quite happy to go back to being a simple healer in the Trigeda capital."

As she spoke, Clarke took another look around at the people marching with her. Her eyes fell onto Jasper and she saw that he wasn't watching his feet.

"Jasper, watch the roots!" she called out to him. He did not respond, he showed no sign of acknowledging her. Clarke sighed and watched as Monty approached him, read Monty's lips as he said _'Jasper, Clarke is talking to you'_. Jasper ignored his old best friend too, quickened his pace and pulled to the outside of the group. He hadn't tripped though, so that was something.

Clarke felt as Aldrin gave her shoulder a squeeze before he moved off towards Lexa. His place was immediately taken by Octavia. They walked silently for a while. Clarke wasn't sure what Octavia had come to say so she did not want to speak first and assume.

"He's never going to forgive you, you know." Octavia finally said. Clarke grimaced. She mulled over the unpleasant thought that this was going to be the extent of her interaction with her friends for while. First Raven had said her piece, now it seemed Octavia was taking her turn.

"Are you really talking about Jasper right now, or yourself?" Clarke muttered a reply.

Octavia scoffed. "Alright. You asked. Honestly I'm angrier and more disappointed with you than I ever was with the Commander. I knew she was ruthless. I expected her to be ruthless. But you? You keep making promises to make things better and then you break them. So maybe most people were avoiding Lexa. But I'm with Jasper on this one. I was avoiding you."

Clarke tried not to show an outward sign of how much Octavia's words stung. No matter Octavia's resentment towards her, Clarke still considered the younger Blake to be a close friend. Clarke had to bite her tongue to keep the arguments rising in the back of her throat from spilling out, pouring fuel on the flames. It took a considerable effort for Clarke. Octavia took her silence as defiance however and spoke again,

"Did you even try to find a better way to get our people out?"

"There was no other way, Octavia. Believe me I have suffered for what I did, but it was the only thing I could do."

"Well we wouldn't know how cut up you were since you left for a year."

"Because I didn't want people to have to look at me and remember what had to be sacrificed to save them! I was willing to shoulder the burden of my choice on my own."

"We needed you Clarke!" Octavia's voice began to get louder. A few people turned towards them. Clarke slowed her pace, forcing Octavia to do the same so that they dropped to the back of the group. "You told me you were trying your best. But you didn't even try to stay and help. You just went."

"I won't apologise for going, but I'm sorry I was gone so long." Clarke answered. But something had been niggling at her since the night of drinking around the campfire. Something Octavia had said had stuck with her and she'd been meaning to bring it up. "You know, you've broken promises to me too. The night we were drinking, you mentioned the missile strike. Nobody reacted, which means you'd already told them the truth. About why Lexa and I had survived."

"Yeah, well we didn't even know if you were alive. Or if you'd ever come back if you were. So it didn't seem to matter anymore. Water under the bridge, right?"

Clarke shook her head, "That's obviously not how the Azgeda see it." She hoped that reminding Octavia of why they were marching through the forest in the first place would also give Octavia pause. Clarke might not have been there to help for a year, but she was here now, at a time when she was most needed. That had to count for something.

"So maybe it was a good thing I told people. What if retaliation from one of the clans had come sooner than this? Besides, I'm not the only person who spilled the beans. Your Mother told the council in a meeting."

Now Clarke prickled with anger. "Don't you dare try to set me against my mother, Octavia! Not when I feel like I've just gotten her back." Clarke hissed, and then, "I'd never do that to you and Bellamy."

Octavia stayed quiet a moment. Clarke wasn't sure if it was because she also realised she'd crossed a line, or she was just preparing for the next bout. But when she spoke again, her voice had quietened back down; "Look. You get us out of this mess in one piece and maybe- maybe- I'll have more for you than disappointment." With that Octavia stalked off.

Clarke was about to call after Octavia, feeling quite intent all of a sudden on getting the last word. But her attention was caught by a shadow moving quickly through the trees to her right. She stopped moving and concentrated hard and made out the shape of a horse. Her heart froze,

"Stop! Everyone stop!" she called and the marching came to a halt. In seconds, Lexa appeared at her side, concern evident in her features.

"Clarke? What is it?"

Clarke pointed into the treeline. The movement glanced by again and Lexa turned back to Clarke,

"Ice Nation scouts." Lexa turned to face the Sky people, "Everyone form up around the cart! We stay still and defend this spot- Clarke!"

Clarke heard Lexa call after her as she took off full pelt into the undergrowth where she had last seen the shape of the horse. For a second, she assumed Lexa would chase after her, but when she looked over her shoulder the Commander was not there. Despite the circumstances, Clarke grinned. Lexa had chosen to keep the majority safe over Clarke yet again. Only this time it was Clarke's people she had chosen to stay and defend. The 'Sky Clan' was part of the coalition now and that made them Lexa's responsibility.

Clarke pushed all thoughts except for finding the rider aside as she burst out of a thick area of vegetation into a clearing. She stopped a moment and listened. When she heard the sound of a stream she followed the noise. She found the horse, a large black stallion, drinking at the brook. It's rider was nowhere to be seen. Clarke circled about, scanning the forest. There was a sudden 'whoosh' followed by a sharp pain as a spear flew and glanced her right arm. She yelped and fell to her knees, her left hand coming up to clutch at the wound. She heard running and looked up to see the rider rushing toward her, machete held aloft. She had just enough time to notice his fur lined clothes; he was definitely Azgedakru. Then he had his hand around her throat, cutting off her breath. He began to swing his machete, speaking as he did so;

"Yu gonplei ste o-"

The Azgeda scout toppled to the floor as someone smashed a rock against his temple. Clarke was too dazed to recognise who it was at first, but whoever had come to her rescue did not stop there. Without checking to see if the first strike had already done the job, her saviour knelt over the scout and brought the rock down again. And again. And again. It was vicious. Clarke breathed and tried to focus, she finally worked out that it was Jasper who had saved her.

"Jasper!" she called. He did not stop, "Jasper! Stop! It's ok, Jasper. You can stop. He's dead."

Jasper finally heard her and stopped himself from bringing the rock down again. He held it aloft in a shaking hand. Jasper turned and looked at Clarke. His eyes were filled with tears, his face red from the exertion. They stayed silent, staring into one another's eyes, taking stock of the killers they had become.

"Thank you, Jasper." Clarke managed.

Jasper did not reply. He simply looked down and studied the horrible mess he had made of the scout's face. He threw the bloodied rock away and picked himself up. Wordlessly, he offered a hand to Clarke. She took it and he helped her to her feet. She wanted to ask him why he had been so far away from the group. There was no way he would have gotten to her in time otherwise. Then she noticed that the fly on his pants was undone,

"Might want to fix that," she said, pointing.

"Thanks," he muttered. He did so and walked away, back to the group. Clarke followed, still clutching at her arm. She found the Sky people circled tightly around the cart, with the armed guards forming a perimeter. Lexa and Aldrin were also in the outside ring, their swords drawn and bodies alert. When Lexa spotted Clarke walking towards the huddle, the relief on her face was evident.

"The Azgeda scout's dead." Clarke announced simply.

"Did you see signs of there being more?" Lexa asked, the Commander's facade slipping straight back into place.

"No, but that doesn't mean there wasn't. Someone could be riding back to the Queen with our location as we speak." The possibility made Clarke's blood run cold. They'd been hoping to sneak in one more rest before reaching Polis. That was no longer an option.

Lexa turned towards the circled of people and sheathed her sword, "Take a moment to relax. Eat and drink. Steel yourselves. We must continue to Polis without stopping now."

There were some audible groans from the crowd, but they followed Lexa's advice. Water canteens were passed around, food shared out and quickly gobbled down. Abby hurriedly bandaged Clarke's wound. Luckily it was a rather superficial wound and it did not bleed too much, though Clarke would need to patch up her coat. It seemed like mere moments before Lexa held up a hand to get everyone's attention again,

"That's enough. Move out," she ordered.

The Sky Clan began to march again.


	2. Chapter 2: Old Paths and New Faces

**Chapter 2: Old Paths and New Faces**

It took them another day and half to reach the walls of Polis. By the time Lexa brought the group to a halt outside the gates, they were all close to collapsing from exhaustion. Even Lexa, who had been trained from a girl to march and march hard, felt ready to sink to her knees. But she would not let the Sky people know that. She clenched her jaw and kept a brave face.

Lexa craned her neck to view the sentries standing atop their metal towers just behind the gates.

"Heda?" One called down, "Chon emo bilaik?" He asked who the Sky people were.

"The Coalition is under attack. These people seek refuge in Polis. Their camp was the first target," Lexa shouted back in English, so that the Sky people could understand her.

"The Coalition, Commander?"

Lexa stared up at the sentry, her eyes flashing a warning in case he thought to keep questioning her. "My diplomatic mission to Camp Jaha was successful. The Sky Clan is now the thirteenth member of the alliance of clans. Let them pass."

There was a moment's pause. Lexa's right hand, still bandaged, found its way to the hilt of her dagger. It fell away to her side when the sentry called out for the gates to be opened. Lexa turned and regarded the people she had led to the gates to her capital.

"Skaikru! Whilst the circumstances aren't preferable, allow me to welcome you to Polis. You will be safe here. You will have food and shelter. First I will take you to the centre of the city, so that the people of Polis may know why you are here."

The Sky people listened silently. Lexa looked to Clarke, she was standing next to her mother at the front of the group.

"Clarke. Lead your people forward to the second gates. I will catch up once I have spoken to the sentries here."

Clarke gave a nod. "Alright everyone, follow me. Just a bit further then we can all sit down." Clarke began to lead her people through the gate and towards the centre of the city.

Lexa waited for the gates to shut behind them before she motioned to one of the sentries to come forward. Aldrin had stayed behind with her and stood to her right.

"Heda?" the sentry spoke.

Lexa replied in Trigedasleng now; "We received word that The Ice Nation army marches on Camp Jaha."

The sentry's eyes flashed with rage; "Then they attack the whole coalition."

Lexa nodded grimly. "Thanks to riders from the Boat people, we managed to evacuate in time. But the army will not be far behind. I asked the riders to get word to TonDC. If they made it, General Indra will have lit the signal fires. Expect reinforcements to arrive. When they do, they are to stay outside these gates ready to fight. Blow the horns to inform me of any arrivals. One long blast for friendlies. Two short ones for Ice Nation. And do not let anyone out of the city without word from myself. There may be Ice people in Polis."

The sentry nodded as he listened and gave a dutiful; "Yes, Commander."

Satisfied that she'd said everything that she needed to, Lexa turned on her heel and made to catch-up with Clarke and the others. Aldrin fell into step beside her.

"Do you think the Ice Queen will be foolish enough to push forward? A smart leader would do what Clarke guessed, go back for more reinforcements."

"It does not matter to me what the Ice Queen will do." Lexa answered back darkly, "It matters what her people want."

Aldrin regarded her for a moment and seemed to think. "Are you planning a coup, Commander?"

"Not a coup, exactly. But I'm hoping that the Ice people value their survival over the life of a poor ruler."

"I understand, Commander," Aldrin said and Lexa knew she did not need to say anymore for now. Aldrin was fiercely intelligent and would be able to fill in the gaps himself. There was no need to discuss plans in the open now, not until Lexa had addressed the city and convinced Polis to aid the Sky people. That was her first priority. Lexa quickened her pace, using the last reserves of energy to catch up to the back of the group. She did so just as they reached the second gates that lead into the centre of the city. Lexa lead them through and smiled as she heard audible gasps. The Sky people took in the small forest that had been hidden behind the high walls. The forest was the city's last line of defence. It was the place where Polis's resident warriors made their camp, surrounded by trees. The place where they could fight most effectively if war ever made it so far into Trigeda territory.

Lexa looked to the warriors who were milling around outside their tents. They were going about their everyday lives. Cooking and washing clothes, sharpening swords and fletching arrows. She singled out a warrior with many braids, marking her as being of a high rank.

"Come here, warrior," Lexa ordered and the woman put down her whet stone and sheathed her sword immediately. She came forward, falling into step next to her Commander.

"Commander?"

"Send word to the Generals that the city may come under attack. Take defensive formation and stay alert."

"As you wish Commander. If I may, who attacks us?"

The Commander considered the woman and decided she may as well be honest. She was about to make the announcement to the city anyway. Lexa moved closer to the woman and leaned into whisper; "Ice Nation,"

The warrior sneered. "Time for your revenge, Commander." The vendetta between Lexa and the Ice Queen was no secret. The people of the Trigeda had adored Costia too. Lexa felt her heart constrict at the warriors words, at the memories of a clan in mourning. She pushed the feelings down,

"Jus drein jus daun," she said, it was expected of her.

The warrior repeated the phrase with satisfaction and then took off through the trees. She ignored the pathways and took the quickest route to the Commander's village where the generals could be found.

Lexa hurried again and made it to the front of the group, coming to walk beside Clarke.

"I have sent word to the Generals to take defensive formation. Some of the warriors will march out to the outer gate. The rest will remain here to defend the centre if the walls should fall."

Clarke offered her a weak smile, "Thank you," she said and Lexa could hear the gratitude in her voice.

Lexa smiled back and then turned her head to look back at the flagging group of Sky people. She was reminded of the time she and Clarke had marched the survivors from Mt. Weather back to Polis.

"Feels like we've been here before, right?" Clarke said, reading Lexa's thoughts as easily as Clarke could read written words.

"Only this time I'll be speaking up for their safety," Lexa referred to the Sky people, "Not my own."

"Have you been preparing a speech on the stroll?"

Lexa gave a small laugh, "Perhaps." Of course she had spent the march to Polis considering what to tell her people.

There were more noises from the group as they finally broke through the treeline and made it into the centre of the capital. It was always a wonderful sight, the sheer amount of buildings. Both old ruins patched back up and the corrugated metal constructions. Street art was everywhere you looked and the number of people walking the streets always came as something of a shock, even for Lexa. For the Sky people it was their first glimpse at what could be achieved on the ground with the time and will to do it. A safe home for thousands of people; a cultural centre for the Trigeda.

Lexa and Clarke led them to the meeting place and directed the Sky people to stand behind them. Lexa watched as the Sky people stared in wonder at the markets, the frenetic trade of goods all around them. A crowd of residents began to form as more and more people paused their everyday tasks and noticed the new arrivals. Lexa gave Clarke a quick smile and then walked over to Abby's side.

"I will address the city about why you are here, Chancellor. Would you like the opportunity to say something when I am done?" Lexa thought that it would be good for the people of Polis to hear the leader of the Sky Clan, she hoped Abby agreed.

"Big audience,"Abby replied, "But yes, thank you. I would like to speak."

Lexa nodded and, satisfied that enough people had gathered, she raised a hand in the air and brought silence to the meeting place.

She spoke first in Trigedasleng so that her people could understand, "People of Polis! We are at war."

Lexa paused as a shout went up. The crowd began to mutter loudly. Lexa raised her hand again before panic could set in, "I set out on a diplomatic mission to invite the Sky Clan into the coalition. I am pleased to say that they accepted the offer. They are our allies. But before we could celebrate this, the Ice Nation chose to march on Camp Jaha. In doing so, they declared war on the coalition."

"Why have you brought the Sky people here? You have made Polis a target!" someone in the crowd shouted out. Lexa tried to find the voice but could not. She supposed it was the voice of everyone in the crowd and the questions needed answering.

"Our warriors will protect our walls. Reinforcements from the other clans will come too. When the Ice Nation follows us to Polis they will not find one army waiting for them, but the army of every other clan. The coalition requires peace to function. We flourish in peaceful times. The Ice Nation has broken that peace. Their Queen insults us all. She went for the weakest target first. But do you think she would be content to stop there? No. If it is war the Ice Queen wants then she would have come here soon enough. Now she is forced to come before she is ready. Before her army has had a taste of easy prey to whet its appetite. Polis will stand. And the coalition will see this insult answered with deadly justice."

A cheer went up from the residents of Polis, followed by the chanting of 'Jus drein jus daun'.

Lexa turned to Abby and said; "It should be you who appeals to them. If you speak, I will translate to them."

Abby motioned that she was ready,

"Polis!" The chanting faded away at the sound of Lexa's voice, "Chancellor Abby, Leader of the Sky people, wishes to speak to you."

Lexa waited. Once Abby began to speak, she translated each sentence;

"People of Polis. Firstly I would like to thank your Commander for leading us here. Camp Jaha would not withstand an attack, but here we will be safe. So now I must ask you all if you will show the same generosity of spirit. I know that our being here makes your home a target. But I also have faith that all together, we can survive. I want for my people what Commander Lexa wants for you. Peace. The chance to live without having to worry when the next attack is coming. The opportunity to find happiness and to build something worth holding on to until the end. It seems some people do not want these things. And they would take them from you as well. Please, do not let them. Show them that there is a better way. Show them that kindness has its place as well as might. Circumstances aside, the Sky Clan is proud to be a part of the coalition. Our first home in the sky, we called it the Ark. It was built out of twelve separate stations that recognised that to survive, we needed to stick together. So we are big believers in what this coalition stands for. I hope that this is the start of a long and prosperous relationship We have so much to learn from one another. Let's not let the needless violence of a few come in the way of that. Thank you."

Lexa finished translating the last sentence and then it seemed she and all of the Sky people were waiting with their breath held. Lexa thought it was a good speech. Much more open and emotive than she would ever be, but stirring. Her people agreed and finally another cheer erupted, along with clapping and the thud of boots being stomped on the ground. Now a chant of "Welcome to the Sky people!" went up. Lexa let out the breath she had been holding and let the crowd have its moment. They'd heard all they needed to and now it was time to get the Sky people food and shelter. Lexa turned to Clarke;

"We should let them eat at the soup kitchen. Then we can get them settled in the communal houses. It will be a squeeze, but I gather you are used to cramped conditions."

Clarke nodded in agreement and went to pass word to her mother. Lexa watched as the crowd of residents dispersed. People resumed their tasks, went back to what they had been doing before. For them, life would go on as normal up until an attack occurred. But for Lexa, it was once again time to plan a war.


	3. Chapter 3: These are Our Terms

**Chapter Three: These Are Our Terms**

Clarke leaned back on the metal wall and watched as her mother surveyed the small room that was to be her home for the foreseeable future. The communal houses were little more than rows of small bedrooms, two stories high. They were eerily similar to the living quarters back on the Ark, spaces meant for sleeping and little else. The buildings were there to provide shelter for those who, for whatever reason, did not have the means to provide their own. People who'd lost their families or had nothing to trade in return for building materials would be given a room in one of the houses. With a place to sleep and at least one square meal provided for them at the soup kitchen, they had the chance to learn a craft or hold down a job. Something they could do in return for the materials necessary to build their own home. Thus, the communal houses were a crucial part of Trigeda society and they were now full. Keeping the Sky people in them could not be a permanent arrangement.

"Just like the Ark, huh?" Clarke spoke. Her mother sat on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to her. Clarke also took a seat,

"How far we have come, and yet this seems so familiar," her mother answered,

"Well. It's not forever. One day, the Sky Clan will have it's own capital."

Abby smiled at Clarke and put a hand on her knee, "It's nice to hear you being so optimistic."

"What? You too? I swear everyone thinks I'm a party pooper. I can do upbeat. I think." Clarke protested. Then Lexa appeared in the doorway to the room and Clarke beamed at her from where she sat on the bed.

"So I can see," her mother said quietly, "Now go on, off with you so I can sleep."

Clarke scoffed and stood up off of the bed. "We ready to go home?" she asked Lexa.

Lexa nodded an affirmative, "Yes. I just came from the house next door. Everyone there is settled in. Let's go."

"See you tomorrow, Mom." Clarke leaned down and gave her mother a squeeze.

"Goodnight, Clarke. And Lexa, thank you again. I will see you both tomorrow."

Clarke left the small bedroom, closing the door behind her. Whilst they had the privacy of being indoors still, Clarke looped her arm with Lexa's and leaned her head onto Lexa's shoulder,

"All things considered, this is pretty nice. Getting to say goodnight to Mom and then go home with you,"

"I'm glad you feel that way, Clarke. The next few days could bring anything. It is important to savour little moments like this."

They reached the door that would lead them back outside. Clarke stood away from Lexa again, "Time to stop being a sap," she laughed. Lexa rolled her eyes at her and opened the door, holding it for Clarke. Aldrin stood up straight when he saw them, he had been leaning against the side of the building waiting. They walked slowly to the Commander's village together, savouring the familiar sights of home on the way.

Clarke watched from her armchair as Lexa diligently placed the full jug of water on the table. It was a ritual one of them would complete every night before going to bed. Once that was done, Lexa stripped off her coat and took a seat in her own chair across from Clarke's. There was a comfortable silence as they both looked towards the flames in the fireplace. Finally, Lexa spoke,

"I thought I'd come back to find you in bed."

Clarke wrinkled her nose, "Every muscle in my body is telling me to sleep right now. But my mind is buzzing."

Lexa motioned her head. It was a feeling she surely knew well. In the first few weeks of Clarke living with Lexa she came to realise that Lexa rarely slept. The first time Clarke had awoken in the middle of the night to find Lexa watching her, she'd put it down to a one off. But then it happened again and again. Then one night, she had woken up to find the place next to her empty; Lexa was silently pacing in their room. That's when Clarke had decided to ask Lexa. Lexa admitted that she would go to bed with Clarke, only to lie awake for hours. If she was lucky, she'd drift off and catch a couple of hours just before dawn, once her mind was also too tired to resist the pull of fatigue. If Clarke had ever found herself awake before Lexa, it was likely that Lexa had only really fallen asleep a short time beforehand.

Clarke hadn't wanted to press about the reasons for this. She thought she could make a pretty good guess. But in time, she didn't need to press. After Clarke had made Lexa aware that she knew about her sleeping habits, or rather lack of them, it took only a few more days for Lexa to open up. She admitted that she often found her mind too full to switch off. And sometimes she suffered from nightmares. Lexa could suppress her emotions and her worst memories whilst she was awake. Yet there was nothing she could do to control them if she slept. Clarke was worried about Lexa, of course. As someone with medical expertise, Clarke knew plenty about the effects of sleep deprivation on the human body. But she also understood Lexa's predicament quite well herself. Instead of protesting, Clarke simply let Lexa talk.

The night after, Lexa found her waiting in bed with a book. The previous Commander's had amassed a fair collection of artifacts from the old world. Items that held little interest for Lexa. Clarke had found the book on a dusty shelf. She remembered well the raised eyebrow Lexa had given her when she saw the book. Clarke asked that she come to bed, close her eyes, and listen. Lexa had fallen asleep before Clarke had read a chapter.

This became a regular occurrence. Soon, books were replaced with personal stories. Clarke told Lexa about growing up on the Ark, about starting her medical training. She talked about losing her dad and being in the sky box. Eventually Clarke even began telling stories about her first days on the ground and about the friends she made. And Finn. She told Lexa all about how he had been the first one to want peace. About how she wished things had gone better when she met Anya for the first time on the bridge. And Lexa had listened to it all and then she had slept.

"Clarke?" Lexa's voice interrupted Clarke's reverie and she refocused her eyes,

"Sorry. I wandered off a bit then."

"I could tell. Worrying about the Ice nation?" Lexa prompted,

"No actually. Thinking about us," Clarke admitted. Lexa gave a sheepish smile and Clarke swore she saw a blush creep into her cheeks,

"That's sweet of you ,Clarke. But you do need to focus on what may come."

Clarke let out a groan and flopped her head onto her chest, closing her eyes. "There's no point lecturing when your student is fast asleep. Can you see?" Clarke opened one eye, "I'm very asleep."

"Mo-"

"Mockery isn't the product of a strong mind, Clarke." Clarke finished for her in a childish voice. Lexa regarded her with her blankest stare. Clarke conceded and sat up; "Fine. Hit me with your wisdom, oh Master Yoda."

Lexa rolled her eyes at the nickname. It wasn't the first time Clarke had used it, but she was never going to explain the reference. She silently thanked whoever it was who had thought to bring a copy of the Star Wars saga to space with them. It had been one of Clarke's favourites of the Ark's video library.

"I simply wanted to ask you what you want for the Sky people? If we defeat the Azgeda."

Clarke let out a puff of breath and shrugged, "You know me. I haven't thought that far ahead," she admitted.

Lexa pursed her lips at her, a clear sign that she wasn't satisfied with the answer. "Which is why I'm asking you to now. Clarke, if you do end up leading the Sky clan, it is important to learn how to think tactically. To always be several steps ahead of any foes. Ahead of your own people, even."

"I thought we've been over this. I don't want to be 'Heda Clarke kom Skaikru'."

"What we want and what happens are two very different things, Clarke. So please. Will you humour me?"

Clarke began to speak, the first things that came into her head; "I don't know, I guess a proper settlement would be nice? Some land of our own, for my people to build on. I want them to learn how to hunt properly and be self-sufficient. I want the Sky clan to be a valuable member of the Coalition, rather than one verging on a crux. I just want to see my friends safe and happy and really alive, not just surviving."

Lexa all but sprang out of her chair at Clarke's speech. She walked over to where Clarke sat and leaned down, cupping Clarke's cheek before planting a soft kiss on her lips. Clarke kissed her back just as tenderly. Once they parted, Lexa remained bent over, her hand still on Clarke's cheek,

"Then I will do all that I can to see that we get your people there," Lexa whispered. Her voice was so very earnest.

"Ai hod yu in," Clarke managed to whisper back. That made two times she had said it aloud and still she was getting used to the way that the phrase felt on her lips.

"I love you too, Clarke," came the reply, without hesitation.

Clarke smiled up at her lover, "Come here,"

Lexa was about to kiss her again when a sharp rap on the door interrupted them. Lexa straightened up immediately and turned towards the offending noise,

"Who is it?" she inquired, and her tone was close to venomous,

"Commander? It's Aldrin. I apologise for disturbing you, but you must come. Some of our warriors have caught an Ice person trying to sneak out of Polis. They have her secured in the war room."

Clarke and Lexa exchanged a serious glance.

"We are coming." Lexa said.

Clarke knew that 'we' meant that she was expected to go too, and it was not a request.

Clarke looked from the steely expression on Lexa's face to the one of defiance on the Azgeda prisoner's. The prisoner was apparently an ambassador. The Ice Queen had sent her to await Lexa's return from Camp Jaha to begin planning a new trade agreement. The timing of her arrival made it difficult to believe the 'ambassador's' tale.

Lexa began to move towards the woman, always an imposing sight. Lexa had donned her full ceremonial garb and her katana hung at her waist. The only feature that marked her face was deliberately put there; the warpaint over her eyes and cheeks. Clarke expected the first strike of an interrogation to come at any moment. She did not like torture, but she would not question Lexa's actions in front of a woman who was potentially the enemy. Clarke readied herself to watch but the first blow never came. Instead, Lexa bent over and brought her face to within inches of the prisoner's.

"Why are you here?" Lexa asked in the cold voice of the Commander. She spoke in Trigedasleng of course. Clarke had to concentrate less and less each day to understand the language. Still, she listened intently.

"Because your warriors tied me here," the woman answered back with snarl.

Lexa stood back up; "Why are you in Polis?" she asked, ignoring the prisoner's sass.

"I was sent by the Queen to negotiate a new trade agreement."

Clarke watched Lexa's face, tried to guess what conclusions Lexa was drawing from that slither of a reply. "I believe you," Lexa said. Clarke was taken aback and she noticed that the prisoner could not hide her own shock quickly enough at being believed.

"Unfortunately for you, your Queen decided to march on Camp Jaha in your absence. In doing so, she declared war on the coalition and made you an enemy to the Trigeda. Whilst knowing you were in my capital. Tell me, is there any reason she might have wanted to get rid of you?"

Clarke tried not to smile. You did not need to throw punches in an interrogation when you could make your words cut so deeply like the Commander could. The prisoner shifted against her restraints in her seat. She was agitated.

"I have always served my Queen loyally,"

"That did not answer my question," Lexa shot back.

The woman looked everywhere but at Lexa. it was answer enough for the Commander,

"Then I can assume that the Ice Queen will not be pleased when a woman she very clearly wanted out of her way returns to her? Carrying a message from me?"

Now the woman looked up. Clarke was also intrigued. She thought back to the time she had sent Emerson back to the mountain with a message. To this day Clarke did not know if it had been the strong thing to do. Or if it had only contributed to the mess that occurred once she reached the foot of the mountain. Clarke hoped that Lexa had a better idea of what she was doing.

"I'll take your silence as a cue to continue. You will be allowed to leave Polis unharmed. You will return to your Queen and you will tell her this. She has three options. One, she comes to Polis with the army that was meant to attack Camp Jaha. They get slaughtered trying to besiege the city and the Coalition will never trade with the Azgeda again. Two, the Queen gets reinforcements and attacks the city. The battle will no doubt be longer and bloodier. But her single army will be fighting against the armies of eleven other clans. The Coalition will never trade with the Azgeda again. Three, the Ice Queen comes to Polis with a small entourage. She fights me in a one-on-one duel to the death. If she wins, she becomes the de facto leader of the Coalition. If I win, the Coalition be willing to negotiate trade with her successor."

There was only one smart answer to Lexa's conundrum, Clarke realised. The ambassador knew this too and her eyes widened,

"The Azgeda would not survive without trade! You would slaughter us all!" she finally broke.

Lexa sneered, "No. Your Queen will slaughter you all if she is allowed to choose unwisely. You are one of her advisers are you not? Better make sure your people do not let that happen."

Clarke watched Lexa unsheathe her dagger and cut the ropes that tied the prisoner's arms to the chair. Then she spoke to the warriors that had been standing in the corners of the room.

"Take the prisoner to the gates and release her. Make sure she walks away. If she fails to deliver the message, my terms still stand. But her people will have had no warning when their Queen dooms them all."

"Yes, Commander."

The two warriors took the woman by her shoulders and lead her out into the pitch black of night. Clarke waited only a moment before she walked over to Lexa.

"That was quite something to watch, babe."

Lexa was stood stock still, but she turned and smiled at the pet name.

"And now we wait," was all Lexa said back. She turned on her heel and left the war room.

Clarke followed and could see the tenseness in Lexa's shoulders. Clarke herself felt wide awake. The scene she had just witnessed had her wired, pumped full of adrenaline. Clarke wondered if she could coax Lexa into picking up where they had left off when they'd been interrupted. As Lexa had suggested, Clarke began to try thinking ahead. As they walked back to the Commander's home, Clarke thought about her attack strategy. She had to stop herself from laughing and giving herself away. What she was up to was not what Lexa had had in mind when giving her little lecture earlier.


	4. Chapter 4: A Head for a Heart

**Chapter Four: A Head for a Heart**

From the bench on which she sat, Lexa watched as a Sky person handed over a wooden bowl of broth to one of Lexa's own people with a smile. The Sky people had been relying on Polis' soup kitchen for their meals. As a means to say thank you, Abby had insisted that the best cooks among the Sky people would help out. Lexa did not smile at the exchange, she kept her expression neutral. But she couldn't help but feel a pang of happiness at what she saw. Even in a week, the Sky people had lived up to their Chancellor's request and made every effort to fit into Polis life.

Lexa wasn't entirely sure how much of that was through them wanting to learn more about her people. She suspected that it honestly had more to with with the Sky people starting to recognise how far they had to go to settle on the ground. They were realising just how much help they would need to get there. If they offended the residents of Polis in any way during their stay, that much needed help would not be at all forthcoming. Even Lexa, who truly wanted to see the newest clan safe, would not force her people into giving aid to those who did not respect them. Lexa imagined Abby reminding all her people to 'be polite' every morning, like a parent sending a child to their lessons for the day. Lexa suppressed a snigger at the idea.

"Sonop!" came a voice. It was Bellamy, carrying his own bowl of soup. He sat on the bench across from Lexa. Lexa allowed her mask to slip long enough to give the man a smile,

"Good. You are picking Trigedasleng up quick, Bellamy."

"It's not that hard, once you are surrounded by it. Not as far away from English as you'd think. Cool how it seems to have developed though. A lot of military slang."

Lexa cocked her head, "You have an interest in such things?"

Bellamy put his hands up, "You got me. Total history nerd. Why, does that surprise you?"

Lexa gave a shrug, "Warriors need something to do when they are not at war."

"So what about you, Commander? What are your hobbies? I'm guessing it's not drinking."

"You are never going to let me forget that night, are you?" Lexa whispered. She found it rather easy to talk to Bellamy. But that didn't mean she wanted the whole of Polis's market seeing her being so open. And she certainly didn't need rumours about that particular night at Camp Jaha spreading around the city. News, or what passed for news, traveled fast on the streets of Polis.

"Raven would kill me if I let you forget."

"Where is Raven?" Lexa asked. Whilst the question was meant to distract Bellamy from his inquiry, it was asked out of genuine curiosity. Lexa had also found that she had grown somewhat fond of Raven, even hoped that one day in the future she might be able to consider her a friend. Lexa was severely lacking in those, a fact that bothered her more than she would ever let on.

"Sleeping in. Clarke?"

Lexa raised her eyebrows, "Same." Then, feeling comfortable enough in Bellamy's presence to pry a little; "Are you and Raven?"

"What? No!" Bellamy replied quite loudly. Lexa shot him a warning look. "No." He repeated, quieter this time.

"I'm sorry. Just the way you spoke. I should not have pried."

Bellamy seemed to consider for a moment and then he leaned in across the table. "But, say, hypothetically, if I was maybe interested in-"

Lexa almost let out a guffaw as she raised her hand, "Bellamy. I left Clarke at the foot of Mt. Weather. Most probably to be killed. Are you sure you want to continue?"

Bellamy leaned back again and nodded, "Yeah, probably not the best person to ask." Bellamy fell silent after that and ate his broth. "Catch you later, Commander,"

"Bellamy."

With that he left Lexa alone one the bench again. Lexa found that her mood had lifted considerably during the conversation. She wondered if that had been a deliberate move on Bellamy's part. She'd even found it in herself to make light of Mt. Weather, something she'd never thought she'd be able to do. But then, once she had thought it would be too difficult to speak openly about Costia ever again. Only she had told Clarke about her no more than a day after meeting her. Lexa wondered what it was about the Sky people that had such an effect on her.

As she pondered, Lexa picked up her spoon and agitated the surface of her own long forgotten broth. She watched absentmindedly as the chunks of root vegetables floated in the stock. She felt her mood dip again. It had been a week of seeing the Sky people fit surprisingly well into Polis. Of Lexa getting to know Clarke's friends a little better. But it had also been a week without any word on the Ice Nation. The city was prepared to defend itself. Platoons of warriors from each tribe had been arriving throughout the week. One blast of the sentry horn announced every new arrival. The gates of Polis had never been so well defended. If the Ice Nation army did come, it would find itself outnumbered. Even if the Queen had taken the time to get reinforcements. But it was the not knowing if the city faced a battle or if she herself was waiting on a duel that agitated Lexa. It meant having to strategise for two entirely different possibilities. Both with vastly different outcomes and implications for the future. A challenge even for Lexa's tactically focused mind.

More than that, the possibility that the Queen might take option three and come to duel Lexa was quite the prospect. Lexa had to admit that the idea of finally getting to face the Queen in battle was something she had spent many nights thinking about. Not recently, but before, in the first months after Costia was lost. She couldn't even remember why that particular war had started. Border disputes perhaps. The Ice Queen had always pushed, been eager to conquer land for herself rather than ask for trade. As her subjects, her warriors had little choice but to obey. But Lexa was banking on those people. She hoped that when given an ultimatum between warmongering and peace, they would choose the latter. That her terms would give the Ice Queen's subjects their own push, the one they needed to tip the balance of power in their favour. A Queen was useless if the majority of her subjects were no longer willing to show loyalty.

Lexa could recollect riding into battle in the days after Costia's head was sent back to her. She and Anya had brought hell upon the Azgeda warriors, side by side. It was the battle that ended the war. But it had not set Lexa at ease. In fact it wasn't until she finally met the Ice Queen in person that Lexa felt any sort of victory. She had not gone with words of war, but of peace. She had gone to offer the Azgeda a place in the coalition. Lexa had been smart, had timed the visit after a particularly harsh and snowy winter. She'd arrived with words of trading food and medicine. Of working together to strengthen each clan by uniting them under one banner. It was an offer that the Queen could not refuse. Doing so would have incited rebellion back then. Now Lexa was threatening to take away the lifeline the Coalition offered. She was threatening to re-spark that threat of uprising.

It was bludgeoning the Ice Queen into cooperation with mere words that Lexa had felt a thrill at. She'd felt it again last night after finding herself able to manipulate the hostage into working for her advantage. So after a few months, when the white hot anger had subsided, Lexa had put thoughts of taking the Queen's own head in battle aside. She matured and began to understand that killing did not help you feel better. A lesson she believed in enough now to have passed onto the woman she loved. The prospect of dueling the Ice Queen was quite something. Not because Lexa was ready for her revenge, but because she feared the emptiness she knew she would feel if she won. What sort of vengeance for her first love would that be? To feel nothing after taking the life of the woman who had snatched that love away.

"Heda?" Aldrin's voice whispered in her ear. She had not seen or heard him approach her. Although she kept herself from jumping, Lexa chastised herself for getting distracted in public.

"What is it?" she answered in Trigedasleng. Her voice came out harsher than she intended but she would not apologise or correct herself. Not even to Aldrin.

"Did you not hear the sentry horn? Two blasts. Word from the gates has arrived. The Ice Queen has come with a small entourage. She has agreed to the duel."

Lexa sucked in her breath. Fate would have it that the Queen would arrive now, after Lexa had wasted the morning sitting here mulling over the very prospect. Lexa took the briefest moment to collect herself and stood up from the bench. She regarded Aldrin,

"Good. She is to stay outside the gate until evening. At sun down, she and no more than three people will be brought here. We duel in the sparring circle."

Aldrin nodded, "I will have word sent to the gate immediately, Commander."

Lexa motioned that he was excused and Aldrin rushed off to get her instructions delivered. Lexa's gaze shifted in the direction of the sparring circle. It was like the meeting place, but smaller; a patch of clear land in the centre of the city. Usually it was used for public sparring matches. And the execution of criminals. Lexa tensed her jaw. She needed to prepare herself for what was for come. First she needed to return home and tell Clarke the news. She returned to the market stable where her horse was tied. She mounted up, and rode back to the Commander's village as quickly as the crowded streets would allow.

Evening came too soon. Soon the sun would dip below the horizon and it would be time to fight. Lexa let out a sigh and leaned her hands on the war table. She had found her own bedroom too clammy, too cosy to get into the mindset of battle. Clarke had stayed beside her and was currently reclining in one of the seats placed around the table. It was in fact Lexa's own throne that she'd sat in, her legs thrown over one of the arms.

"Babe, you're going to pop your jaw if you tense it anymore," Clarke spoke into the silence.

Lexa almost growled at Clarke's mirth but instead she took note of the words and tried to relax her face. She took to chewing her bottom lip instead. Clarke watched her from the throne,

"Seriously, are you trying to ruin my night?"

Lexa rolled her eyes as she picked up on what Clarke was alluding to. "I have to win the duel before we can celebrate a victory, Clarke."

Clarke gave her a smirk, "I know. But weren't you telling me I needed to start thinking ahead?"

Now Lexa did let out a growl, but the sound was more comical than threatening. Of all the lessons she had decided to pass onto Clarke, this was perhaps the one she was beginning to regret. She'd already paid for her lecture last night. When they'd arrived back home last night, Lexa had found herself being nothing short of ambushed. It was certainly something Clarke had been planning on the walk home, so ruthless and efficient it was in its execution. They hadn't made it upstairs. Lexa pushed the distracting memories away.

Clarke must have picked up on Lexa's shift in mood and her face fell too,

"You're going to win this."

"Fate willing," was all Lexa managed back. She began to massage the palm of her right hand with her left. The burns had just about healed over the week and she no longer needed a bandage. But the skin still felt tight and Lexa knew it would be uncomfortable to grip her sword for an extended amount of time. She'd spent the day focusing on practicing close-quarters combat. Aldrin, always her first choice for a sparring partner, had barely been anything but a practice dummy. He'd dutifully been disarmed and thrown to the ground again and again. Lexa had run the risk of exhausting herself before even getting to the actual duel.

"Come on. You've told me you are the superior fighter," Clarke tried to encourage Lexa.

Lexa gave a shrug, "Not always a deciding factor. I fight with a sword. The Queen with a spear. That is quite an advantage in terms of reach."

Now Clarke moved off of the throne and came to stand beside Lexa. It reminded Lexa of a similar night spent in her tent, before the attack on the mountain. That time it had been Clarke who was over-thinking, wasting energy on worry. The memory finally gave Lexa pause and she managed to steel herself, will herself into a state of composure,

"I'm over-thinking," Lexa stated, before Clarke could point the fact out,

"It's something I used to do, when I first took command of my people," Clarke quoted Lexa's own words back to her. Clarke had no doubt thought of the same memory, "But then a very wise leader told me to stop and rest."

Lexa smiled and let out a long soothing breath. She turned towards the door when it opened to reveal Aldrin,

"Commander? It is time."

The procession back into the centre of Polis was somber. Lexa, Clarke and Aldrin all remained silent upon their horses as they passed out of the Commander's village and into the city. Spectators lined the streets, come to watch their Commander duel her nemesis. That's likely what they would have told one another when word spread. Her people would see it as justice if Lexa emerged the victor, even if she would not. Lexa took some motivation from that.

The tone was leagues away from that of the celebration a year ago. The crowd watched the horse go by, as silent as the riders. The steady clop of hooves on the ground was the only sound, it was eerie in a city so densely populated as Polis. And even that sound silenced once the horses reached the market stable. Lexa dismounted and handed the reins over to the stablemaster. She took a moment to collect herself, studied her breathing, began to prepare her body for the exertion that was to come.

Once Clarke and Aldrin had dismounted too, they all moved to towards the sparring circle. The crowd that had gathered there parting to let them through. Lexa noted that Abby and a few of the other Sky people had managed to secure front row spaces. Of course the Chancellor would want to see the duel for herself, since the safety of all her people likely rested on the outcome. Abby met Lexa's eyes and Lexa gave her a nod of respect. Then Lexa watched as Clarke moved to stand next to her mother.

Lexa and Aldrin continued walking and came to stand in the centre of the circle. She did not have to wait long before the crowd she was facing began to part and then, there was the Ice Queen with her three attendants. The attendants all kept their hoods up and two remained at the edge of the clearing. One, presumably her own bodyguard, walked with the Queen to the centre until she was feet away from where Lexa stood.

Both leaders measured each other up as their bodyguards attended to their duties. Aldrin removed Lexa's trench coat. Underneath she wore a long sleeved top to ward off the nighttime chill. When The Ice Queen's bodyguard mirrored Aldrin's actions, the Ice Queen wore only a vest underneath her coat. Neither woman showed any emotion as they continued sizing each other up. Next, Aldrin came and put Lexa's shoulder pauldrons on her. Not the ceremonial one, but one much lighter and designed for dueling. Then he handed her her sword, again it was a more functional than her ceremonial katana. She took the weapon and pointed the blade to the ground, a sign that she had no intention of attacking until it was time.

The Ice Queen was readied in her own armour and handed her dueling spear. She also pointed the sharp end down at the ground. They were both battle ready. Lexa waited until Aldrin and The Queen's bodyguard had stepped out of the sparring circle. Nobody would be allowed to cross its threshold now until the duel was over.

"To the death." Lexa's voice was curt. It was customary for the competitors to exchange a brief word before beginning to fight. The Queen sneered at her,

"What? No dedication to lost love, no speech about justice?"

Lexa said nothing back, instead she lifted her sword away from the ground and readied her stance. The moment the Ice Queen had done the same with her spear, Lexa moved. She darted forward before immediately retreating. The Queen's thrust met empty air. Lexa began to circle, always staying just out of reach of a lunge. It did not give her much room. The Queen came forward, jerking her spear towards her. Lexa brought her sword up to block and then used her strength to push the weapon away to her left. She dived forward to the right then, rolling and coming up behind the Queen. Lexa slashed forward with her sword, but the Queen wheeled about and blocked the attack in plenty of time. Lexa would have to wear the Queen down more.

The duel became a dance, with Lexa always skirting outside of the Queen's reach. Over and over, she forced the Queen to move towards her before attacking. Each time, she would bat the spear away or dart out of it's way. Lexa was a blur as she moved and she could feel her heartbeat quickening. She kept her breathing as even as she could, feeding oxygen to her muscles as she moved quicker and quicker. She was forcing the Ice Queen to do the same if she was to have any chance of hurting Lexa.

The Queen's face remained blank but gradually, Lexa began to sense her opponents frustration. The Queen's lunges became even more forceful, vicious even. Lexa's movements had to remain completely fluid. One dodge immediately melted into the next as the tip of the Ice Queen's spear jabbed towards her. At one point, the Queen aimed the spear low, going to trip Lexa. Lexa jumped the weapon like a child would jump a rope and then found her footing so that she could face the next attack. It came fast, a swing this time rather than a jab, with the aim of wrapping the spear about Lexa's face. Lexa brought her sword up to halt the spears progress, the weapons clacking as they met. It was the best opportunity Lexa had been given so far for a decent counter.

She twirled to her left, moving parallel to the spear, closer to the Queen. Lexa ducked as the Queen, released from the block, continued to swing her spear. She was trying to catch up with Lexa's progress and hit her in the back. The spear glanced over Lexa's head though and the moment it did Lexa halted and slashed. Her sword made brief contact with the Queen's thigh before the Queen moved out of reach. Lexa pulled out of the lunge to avoid over-stretching herself.

The Queen gave no sign to the severity of the injury. She turned herself to face Lexa again with a blank stare. Lexa hoped that it was masking fury. Fury that could be turned into frustration. The dance began again after the brief respite, like restarting the first sequence of steps. The Queen lunged and Lexa moved. But the Queen had learned and did not try the same swinging technique on Lexa again. The dance became relentless, Lexa fighting for space to move in the circle as each spear thrust came perilously close.

Eventually Lexa found enough clearance to prepare a block. She watched the spear jerk towards her, counted and then at the very last moment, brought her sword up in a powerful strike. The wood of the spear bounced off the momentum of her strike. In that brief moment where the Queen had no control over her weapon, Lexa moved in.

She rushed forward and grabbed at the spear with her left hand, securing it in her grip. Of course, the Queen's first instinct was to try and tug the spear away again, but this was what Lexa wanted. She held fast and let the Queen's tug drag her forward too. Her longsword was pretty much useless in only one hand, too heavy for a decent strike. She kept it loose in her right hand and instead butted her head forward against the Queen's nose. She felt, rather than heard the crack of cartilage. The Queen could not hold back her yelp this time and Lexa saw this as her opportunity to strike again. She pulled hard and wrestled the spear from the Queen's grip whilst the Queen was distracted by the pain. She threw the weapon behind her and then took a two handed grip on her longsword. She lunged and felt as the blade passed through fur and cloth and into flesh. The moment she felt the Queen's weight shift, Lexa slid the blade out and watched as the Queen fell to her knees.

"Yu gonplei ste odon," Lexa said mechanically. Then she sliced the Ice Queen's head off.

A roar went up from the crowd. Lexa let her sword go limp in her right hand. She bent and picked up the Queen's head by the hair, lifting it into the air to mark her victory. She took no pleasure in the display, but the showmanship was expected of her. Lexa kept her prize aloft as she turned to face the late Queen's advisors.

"Tell your new leader that the Coalition stands ready to trade." Lexa stated.

At that one of the hooded attendants came forward, the slightest of the three. The attendant removed her hood and revealed a teenaged girl. Although it had been a long time since she had seen her, Lexa recognised the girl immediately as the Princess. She was the Ice Queen's daughter and heir.

"And the Ice Queen accepts the Coalition's offer," she replied in a steady voice. It was quite something, considering the girl had just watched Lexa behead her own mother. Lexa was reminded of herself when she took command. She must of been a similar age. Lexa almost shivered, had she really been so young?

"We must return to our own territory. First I must have my coronation. Then, we can talk."

Lexa dropped her arm to her side. She looked down at what was in her hands and then back up to the new Queen,

"You may take your Mother's remains to be put to rest as per Ice Nation customs." As the victor of the duel and considering how Costia had- or rather had not- been returned to her, Lexa had every right to keep the body. She could add a final insult by refusing to cremate the remains. Lexa found she had no desire to do this.

"Thank you," the new Queen replied.

Lexa watched as the new Queen and her advisors readied to leave. Someone came forward with a sheet for the body and the corpse was wrapped up and handed over. The same soldiers that had brought them into the city would now escort the Ice people back out.

"Know that the people of the Ice Nation are grateful to you, Commander. You were gracious to offer trade," the new Queen said, before she turned and left with the escort.

It wasn't much, but Lexa knew that the new Queen had just confirmed that Lexa's plan had worked exactly how she had hoped. The late Ice Queen, presented with Lexa's terms, no doubt faced only one choice; agree to the duel or face a rebellion. That the new Queen had chosen to allude to this gave Lexa some hope that she, more than her Mother, was sensitive to the needs of her subjects. But the hope soon faded. The Queen was young and who knew what grudges might flourish, given time.

Lexa looked up and around and found she was alone in the sparring circle. She finally sheathed her sword. Then, Clarke appeared at her side and despite the crowd, she took Lexa's hand in her own.

"How do you feel?" Clarke asked.

Lexa swallowed. "Empty," she whispered back, "I feel empty."

Clarke only nodded in understanding. They stayed there, hand in hand in the centre of the sparring circle. Sharing a quiet moment whilst celebrations erupted around them. Lexa squeezed Clarke's hand and felt Clarke squeeze back. And then she felt a sudden and by now familiar rush of affection for Clarke. It filled the emptiness, replaced nothingness with light. Lexa was reminded again that justice did not come from killing those who had wronged you. It came from refusing to be destroyed by those foes, by continuing to live and to find new happiness despite everything. Lexa hoped it was a kind of justice that would indeed satisfy Costia's memory.


	5. Chapter 5: Our Souls Stay

**Chapter 5: Our Souls Stay When Our Bodies Must Move Away**

"How was the meeting?" Clarke asked. She was already tucked up in bed, ready to sleep after a long day at the clinic,

"Good. Very productive. Your Mother is a skilled leader, Clarke." Lexa replied. She had just returned with the water jug and now she stripped to her under garments and clambered into bed next to Clarke. The moment Lexa lay back on her pillows, Clarke rolled towards her lover. Lexa grinned and extended an arm, wrapping it around Clarke as she came to rest her head on the taller woman's chest.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get away from the clinic to be there. The last meeting too." Clarke spoke.

She had tried to get away, but injured people were not considerate. Tomorrow, the Sky people would finally be leaving Polis after almost a month. It had been the last meeting, meant more as a formality than anything. A way to check and double check the details of the plan Lexa and Clarke's mother had worked out together.

Lexa had offered the Sky Clan the mountain. Whilst both Clarke and Abby had been resistant to the idea at first, they had come to understand Lexa's logic. The land surrounding Mt. Weather had never been claimed by any clan, lessening the risk of a land dispute. And building on the side of a mountain had a clear tactical advantage, a natural protection against future attack. They still had to consider the spy drone back at Camp Jaha as a clue to a threat that had not yet revealed itself, after all. So tomorrow Clarke would have to return to the mountain with her people. She tried to focus on the positives. The Sky people were finally getting their chance to build a proper life on the ground. It would be a victory quite literally built upon the foundations of a great sacrifice.

Lexa pecked Clarke on the forehead; "And I am sorry that I cannot come with you tomorrow," she replied.

It had been three weeks since the duel and in that time, Clarke and Lexa's life together had begun to fall back into a routine. More so for Lexa. At least Clarke still had the novelty of being able to visit her friends when she found the time. Lexa's days were once again filled with negotiations. With Abby, and with the representatives from the desert and boat clans. They had arrived almost as soon as the trouble with the Azgeda had come to a conclusion. They brought word back from their clan leaders and were keen to seal deals with the Coalition's head. Lexa had no choice but to stay and attend to her duties in Polis.

"I won't be gone too long. Just to see my people arrive at their new home safely, maybe watch them lay a few foundations." Clarke rolled over and picked up a piece of paper from her side table, letting her charcoal pencil roll off. "What do you think?"

Clarke handed Lexa the paper and watched as Lexa studied it. Clarke had done an artistic representation of what the Sky Clans home could eventually look like. She'd drawn a city built on the side of the mountain, reaching back up towards the stars from which they had fell. Clarke smiled when she saw Lexa's eyes light up,

"Wonderful. As always. And a well thought out layout. You should take this with you." Lexa appraised her work. But then Lexa's eyes grew dim again. "Are you sure you won't want to stay? They are your people. I would understand."

Clarke sighed and took the drawing out of Lexa's hands, placing it back on the table. Then she rolled herself onto her side and propped herself up on her shoulder.

"Lexa, look at me."

Lexa gave her own sigh and mirrored Clarke's pose so that they were facing one another,

"Polis is my home now, ok?" Clarke stated matter-of-factly, and then; "You are my home."

Lexa looked sheepish. It wasn't the first time she had asked Clarke if she would really be coming back. Clarke couldn't really blame her lover. Of course she was scared of losing Clarke, she had lost everyone close to her in the past. Not that Lexa would ever admit these motivations behind her questions to Clarke. She didn't have to.

"I am happy to hear that. But we both know that you would sacrifice your home for the sake of your people-"

"Lexa, that could happen to either of us at any time. Let's not concentrate on 'ifs'. Just on the questions we can answer now."

Clarke was taken aback when Lexa seemed to grow red at her words. She watched as the blush crept into Lexa's cheeks, a sight only she was ever likely to be privy to. Clarke wondered what she could have possibly said to illicit such a strange response.

"Is everything ok, babe?" she asked, suddenly worried that Lexa might of come down with a fever.

"Clarke?" was all Lexa said back before she fell quiet. Clarke could see Lexa's jaw working. She was obviously on the verge of saying something else, something that had gotten stuck in the back of her throat.

"Lexa, you are worrying me a little. What's on your mind, babe?"

"Questions we can answer now!" Lexa blurted out. It was quite uncharacteristic of her, even alone with Clarke. Clarke was about to ask again if everything was ok but Lexa spoke again and cut her off; "Will you marry me, Clarke?"

The question was asked hurriedly, to the point where Clarke had to take a moment to make sure she'd heard right. Lexa's wide-eyed and expectant expression told her that she had. Clarke felt like she needed a minute, but she just couldn't leave Lexa hanging on the response. So she replied and left the repercussions of her answer to trouble her afterwards;

"Yes."

Lexa's face broke into a grin.

"Yes." Clarke repeated, liking the way the simple word felt as it escaped her lips, "I will marry you, Lexa," she finished.

"Thank you," Lexa managed to say back. As if realising how awkward she was being, Lexa leaned forward and placed a kiss on Clarke's lips to avoid needing to use anymore words. It was a long and tender kiss, one full of promise and happiness. When they parted, Clarke rested her forehead against Lexa's,

"Ai hod yu in," she whispered,

"I love you too," came the reply. Then Lexa smirked; "And now you will have to come back to Polis. At least for one day so that you can marry me."

Clarke sniggered, "I'm coming back Lexa. To marry you. To spend my life with you."

This time, Lexa let the 'ifs and buts' lie. She grinned again and shifted back onto her back so that Clarke could resume cuddling up to her. Clarke shivered when Lexa's hand stroked down her spine.

"Goodnight, babe," she murmured, though her heart was still racing in excitement.

"Os sheidgeda, ai tombom," Lexa replied; _goodnight, my heart_.

They slept soundly.

The next morning saw all the Sky people gathering at the gates of Polis. Getting everyone ready to go took time, they had all settled into the communal homes over the past month. That meant that repacking belongings took longer than expected. Also, carts carrying supplies were gradually arriving at the gates. Lexa had been keen to make sure that she wasn't sending the Sky clan off to their new territory without help. She had arranged for carts of food supplies and basic building material for constructing tents to be taken. As well as a group of fifty of her own people. These people were all seconds in the city, the ones closest to completing their apprenticeships. There were builders, smiths, hunters and more trades among them. Ten of them were warriors, to support the Sky clan guards until settlement defences could be built. They would also serve as translators and teachers. They were being sent to teach the Sky clan to become self-sufficient.

The supplies Lexa had donated would last a few months, but after that the Sky people would have to fend for themselves. It was vital that they learned how to do that quickly. There was a back-up plan, though. The Sky people had eight seasons to become self-reliant as a clan in their own right. If that didn't happen, their territory would become a part of the Trigeda. Abby would become one of Lexa's generals and the Sky people would become Trigedakru. Of course the Sky people were keen not to let this happen, even though it was a reasonable fallout plan.

Clarke held up the artistic impression she had done so that a particularly keen second could see it. She was training as a builder and was, according to her own words, particularly skilled with metal.

"This is good," the second appraised in Trigedasleng, "I hope we can salvage enough metal from the mountain."

Clarke grimaced at the idea of going inside the mountain. She was sure she would be excused from being part of the salvage team, along with the others who had been held captive there. But still it was too stark a reminder that her people's new home was going to be built on the foundations of such a dark memory. But Lexa had been correct. The mountainside was unclaimed land and well defensible. It would be ridiculous not to take such a gift.

"Me too," Clarke replied.

She was stood in a small bunch at the rear of the gathering crowd, along with her mother, Kane and Lexa. Clarke looked over her drawing and saw that her mother and Lexa were in deep conversation. No doubt going over the supplies one more time, whilst there was still a chance to make amendments before they left. Clarke allowed herself a smile at the sight. She hadn't yet found chance to tell her mother about her engagement. Clarke glanced over her shoulder to the larger group. it seemed as though most people had now arrived from the communal houses and all the supply carts were ready to go. The horses that were carrying them whinnied and stomped at the ground, impatient to leave. The Sky people were happy enough making conversation, a general din of chatter filled the area around the gates. Still it would not be long until they too started to feel restless. Clarke handed her drawing over to the second,

"Here, why don't you keep this for me. You can hang it up in your tent for inspiration or something," Clarke said. She was very confident in speaking the Trigeda language now and the second recognised her casual tone and grinned,

"Thank you!"

Clarke offered a smile back, "You should introduce yourself to Marcus," she pointed Kane out. "He'll probably be a keen student."

The second nodded and did as Clarke suggested, taking the drawing with her. Clarke felt slightly bad for getting rid of her like that. Although she was aware that she was running out of time to make her announcement to her mother. Clarke moved closer to Lexa and her mother and waited for a gap in their conversation,

"- should last for about half a year. Longer if you are careful," Lexa was saying.

Abby nodded in understanding, "I'd rather be too careful than too careless with the food. If shelter becomes a major issue we always have the interior of the mountain as a last resort."

"Is this 'leader's only', or can I butt in?" Clarke joked.

Lexa turned to her, "Clarke? You are more than welcome, did you have something in particular on your mind?" she said. She was in full Commander mode, no doubt eager to see the Sky people off safely and without a hitch. They'd had their own more intimate goodbyes in the early hours of the morning.

"Actually we have something to tell my Mom, don't we," Clarke hinted, "Now's our only chance to do it together."

Lexa's face looked blank for a moment, before she realised what Clarke was alluding to. She made an 'oh' face and then turned back to Abby with a somewhat awkward look. The Commander's stoic mask had vanished.

Abby regarded them both quizzically, "Should I be worried?" she asked.

"I hope not," Lexa spoke. She meant it as a joke, but Clarke thought that Lexa might be genuinely worried about Abby's reaction. It was time to bite the bullet.

"Mom. Last night, Lexa asked me to marry her," Clarke announced. She watched as her Mother's eyebrows raised in anticipation, "And I said yes."

There was a beat, a millisecond when Clarke almost expected her Mother's face to fall into a frown. It didn't. Instead Abby gave a wide grin and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around both her and Lexa and drawing them in for a hug. Clarke hugged back eagerly. In contrast she could feel Lexa grow stiff beside her, obviously not expecting the physical contact.

"That's wonderful, I am very happy for you both." Abby said and then she let them go a moment. Then she wrapped just Clarke in an even tighter squeeze. "I am so proud of you, and your father would be too, Clarke," she whispered into her ear.

Clarke felt tears forming in her eyes and willed them not to fall. Finally, she was released from her mother's hold.

"So, I assume once we are settled in our new territory, we will be coming back to Polis?" Abby asked, directing the question to Lexa who after all, knew more about Trigeda wedding customs.

"Of course. Your people will always be welcome visitors to Polis. I hope that many of you will be able to make it to share in the celebrations. It will be a city wide event."

Now Clarke blanched. Lexa had made no mention of that fact before now, "The whole city?"

Lexa shrugged, "I am their Commander," was all she said in explanation.

Clarke supposed that it made sense. She thought back to Earth history classes at school on the Ark. They had learned all about the different sorts of governing bodies that had existed in the pre-war world. She remembered that any remarkable family occasions were always made into national events. She had even seen videos of such celebrations. Clarke gulped as she remembered the crowds on those video clips. Of course she had attended a huge celebration in the city before, but that had been centred around a victory in battle. And when Lexa had defeated the Ice Queen, it had been her at the centre of attention. But at their wedding it would be Clarke in the proverbial spotlight too. The person who remembered well the butterflies she would get before performing her few lines in the Unity Day parade as a child.

"There's no rush though right? She only asked last night." Clarke mumbled. Her mother narrowed her eyes at her and then seemed to cotton on to Clarke's reservations. But she did not offer comfort.

"Well we'll have plenty of time to plan on the journey. Maybe one of the seconds will be kind enough to fill us in on the details surrounding Trigeda wedding traditions?"

"A good point, Abby. We mustn't waste opportunities," Lexa chimed in.

Clarke scoffed. Five minutes into announcing her engagement and already her mother and her intended were starting to gang up on her.

"Plenty of time for me to reconsider too," Clarke shot back and the smirk that adorned Lexa's face disappeared.

Clarke was about to add on that reconsidering was a highly unlikely outcome when Marcus approached them.

"All set and ready to go. Abby, Clarke, you two should probably make your way to the front of the group." Marcus looked from Clarke to Lexa, "If you are done saying goodbye."

Clarke watched Lexa closely, expecting her mask to reappear. It didn't and instead she moved closer and took Clarke's hands into her own,

"Be safe, Clarke. Lead your people home." she said.

Clarke squeezed Lexa's hands tight, committed the way that they felt in hers to memory, "I will. And I will be back as soon as possible."

Lexa smiled, though her eyes revealed that this goodbye was painful for her. Clarke felt her own chest tighten. She breathed deeply. It was something they would both need to get used to doing. "Take as long as you need, Clarke," Lexa stated. She was always willing to wait for Clarke.

Clarke felt like it didn't need a verbal response, so instead she leaned forward and gave Lexa- her fiance- a peck on the lips. "Mebi oso na hit choda op nodataim," Clarke whispered as they parted, and then; "I love you."

Lexa rested her forehead against Clarke. "May we meet again. Ai hod yu in," she whispered back. Then the moment was over and they stepped away from one another. Lexa looked up towards the sentries on their towers, "Open the gates!" she shouted.

Clarke gave the woman she loved one last smile before she turned away. She moved to the front of the group along with her mother and Marcus. Abby motioned that Clarke should go first and so Clarke was the first to step over the gate threshold. She listened to the noises of her people falling into step behind her, organising themselves into a convoy. She heard the shouts from the cart-drivers to spur the horses into motion. But Clarke did not look behind her again.

She walked, one foot in front of the other, away from her home. Away from Lexa. She had gone perhaps ten paces when she stopped. In the distance she could see the speck of something. Something that was hovering in the air and moving towards her. She squinted. The mystery object came closer until Clarke could hear a the unmistakable whirring of technology. It was another drone like the one that Lexa had destroyed outside Camp Jaha. Clarke motioned to Marcus and he drew his rifle.

"Don't shoot it yet," she said as the drone flew ever closer. It came to within six feet of where she stood and then stopped. The convoy of people and carts had also come to a halt behind her. The drone hovered. Clarke noticed that this one was not armed with a machine gun.

There was a silence, punctuated by the sound of a single person running. In another moment Lexa was beside her, her breathing short from the sprint. Clarke glanced at Lexa,

"This one isn't armed," she pointed out. She went right to business as if they weren't lovers who had just exchanged a painful goodbye.

Lexa looked at the drone to confirm this and then turned around and put her hand up. No doubt to halt her own sentries from loosing a spear at the drone. The silence continued for just a moment. Then a bright light emanated from the drone, focused and formed an image. It was Thelonius Jaha. A video message began to play.


	6. Chapter 6: Victory on the Back

**Chapter 6: Victory on the Back of Sacrifice**

"I have a message for the people of Polis, the so-called capital of the Tree Nation," the message began. It flickered in and out of focus in the air, the drone visible through the translucent hologram. "When I sent one hundred of my people down here, we did not know what they would find. At worst, we expected that radiation would kill them almost immediately. At best, they would find the Earth uninhabited but safe and ready to welcome them home. Instead they found you. The twelve clans. The grounders. You sent warriors to kill my people. You tortured a boy for information. You imprisoned myself and my friend and attempted to goad one of us into killing the other."

Clarke glanced towards Lexa when the video of Jaha said that. Lexa had admitted to Clarke the way she had disguised herself in front of Thelonius and Marcus. How she had had Gustus pose as the commander and tell them that one would have to kill the other to be freed. All so that she could listen to their reactions and gauge their intentions. Marcus had impressed her with his genuine desire for peace. Thelonius had insulted her and her people. Clarke saw as Lexa's jaw clenched, she was clearly irked by Thelonius's words.

"You are a people defined by war, by killing mercilessly. I do not want that for my own people. We spent one hundred years making hard decisions to survive on the Ark. To make sure that we had enough air to breathe so that humanity may once again see the world. And then we arrived on Earth to find that life was no better. The remnants of humanity had descended into savagery. Barely scraping through life. Failing to learn from mankind's past mistakes. But I am willing to learn. I imagine a better way for my people. A safe place, a sanctuary. It is known among your people as a rumour, a whisper. 'The City of Light'. That's what you call it. Let me tell you now that this City of Light does not exist yet. But I can bring it into existence. For my people, I will cleanse this Earth of sin. For my people, I will make one last tough call. For my people, I will provide the fresh start they were owed when they arrived on the ground. Polis is the most densely populated area in grounder territory. It will be burned to the ground in atomic fire. So that my people may rise from its ashes and build a home upon the sacrifice of those who were not worthy . The City of Light is coming. Do not try to run."

Clarke glanced towards Lexa and saw that she was about to throw her dagger at the drone in anger as the video fizzled away. Clarke flung her arm out and caught Lexa's arm just before she could let go of the weapon.

"Wait!" Clarke exclaimed, gripping onto Lexa's arm.

Lexa snapped her head in Clarke's direction, her nostrils flaring in anger. It was a natural response to being physically prevented from doing something. But barely a moment later, Lexa had caught herself and remembered who was standing beside her. Her face calmed into a look of expectation.

"We need to keep it in tact. We might be able to use it to contact Jaha."

"You intend to bargain with a mad man?" Lexa asked cooly.

Clarke tensed her own jaw and looked into Lexa's eyes, "I intend to tell him that if he plans to nuke Polis, he'll be killing 'his' people too."

"Clarke, he could already have launched the bomb. You need to get out," Lexa argued. She sounded quite adamant.

"He says he's got an atomic bomb, Lexa. If he's already launched it we'd never get out of the blast radius in time. But if he hasn't, letting him know that the Sky people are in Polis might be the only way to make him come to his senses."

Lexa considered what Clarke had said for a moment and then nodded.

"Very well. But you need to tell your people."

Clarke scowled. The message had been loud enough for the whole group to hear it. The fact that she had heard no protests, no shouts of distress from her people was perhaps more alarming than if she had. Were they too shocked by the words of their former leader? Too angry? Or were they waiting for the signal to get out of Polis as quickly as possible? Wondering why they were still standing at the gates of a city that had just become the target of a nuclear threat. Clarke turned towards the group and found them all looking towards her, not her mother, waiting for answers.

"Marcus," Clarke spoke, "Think you can disable that thing without frying it?"

Marcus gave her a nod and looked down the sights of his rifle. With a quick burst of fire, he had destroyed the four rotors that kept the drone in the air. It fell with a clatter to the floor, but remained in tact.

Clarke looked around and pointed at one of the men driving a cart,

"You! Empty your cart and use it to take the drone into the Commander's war room." she ordered. The man did not even bother to look towards Lexa for further instruction before he obeyed the command. He climbed down off the cart and started emptying the rolls of canvas onto the ground. Some seconds started to help him.

Then Clarke approached the horse, her horse, that Bellamy and Raven were mounted upon.

"Raven, I'm going to need your expertise," she spoke up to her friend.

Raven looked down at her and Clarke thought that she was about to refuse, to tell Clarke to stop being an idiot and order everyone to move out. But the protest didn't come, instead Raven nodded and held out her hand for Clarke to take. With help, she dismounted the horse and moved over to where the drone was now being loaded into the emptied cart. Raven clambered into the cart with it.

"Ready to go," she said to the cart driver. He looked to Clarke, who nodded her permission, and then he spurred the horses on, taking the cart back through the gates into Polis. "Please don't have a self-destruct sequence…" Clarke heard Raven mutter as the cart went past.

Now it was time for Clarke to announce her plan to the rest of her people. She only hoped they'd all react like Raven had.

"Sky clan!" she started, trying out the new name. They listened. "You heard the threats that Jaha has made. He intends to wipe out the very people that opened their gates to us at a time of need. We cannot let that happen. He talks about us like we are his 'chosen ones'. We need to let him know that his chosen ones are in the city he intends to attack. And that if he wants to proceed with his plan, he'll have to find someone else because we won't be going anywhere. If he wants to nuke our friends, he can damn well nuke us too!"

"No!" came a lone voice. It was Jasper. "Why should we be a meat shield? Did the grounders stay at the Mountain? No! They put themselves first. We should to. We are moving out Clarke." Jasper argued. There were a few murmurs of agreement. Not many, but enough to cause worry. Clarke breathed deeply before speaking again.

"You heard Jaha. Somehow, he's gotten hold of a nuclear weapon. If he intends to launch it today, we'll be dead anyway. We'd never escape the blast radius. And even if we did, then what? The radiation would spread goodness knows how far. Our immunity only stretches so far. I don't know where Jaha has gotten this idea about a 'City of Light' but it's a terrible idea. One that I would never want to be a part of. So maybe this does feel like we are giving too much back to people who didn't- couldn't- give us the same before now. But think of the past month. This city has been your shelter. You've lived among them. Think what you will about Mt Weather, but you can't tell me that you agree with Jaha's views of the clans. I'd rather die with my dignity. Sacrifice myself knowing that I wasn't standing up for Jaha's superiority complex. I'd rather do that than be part of a 'Promised land'. But maybe that's just me." Clarke came to an end.

Thankfully, amazingly, the crowd burst into cheers and applause at the speech.

Abby came forward and offered her daughter a supportive smile before she turned to her people and said, "You heard Clarke. Everybody about turn!"

With the word from their Chancellor, the Sky people began to turn themselves about.

"One of these days, I'll get to make the speeches," Abby managed to joke.

"Sorry." Clarke muttered. Both her mother and Lexa were right. For someone who protested against wanting to be a leader so much, she certainly seemed to jump at every opportunity to do just that. She was guided of course by her natural instinct to protect her people, an instinct she'd never been able to fight against.

"Don't be. You were as captivating as usual," Abby answered, trying to keep the light tone going. But they had work to do, "We'd better catch-up to Raven. And she will probably want some help."

Clarke nodded grimly and looked up to scan the retreating crowd. Against her better judgment she shouted; "Jasper!" and hurried over to him when he stopped and turned to face her. "Raven will probably need help. You and should come with us to the war room."

Jasper did not answer. Nor did he move.

"You don't want us to get bombed do you? So help us make sure that doesn't happen!" Clarke snapped.

Jasper actually gulped. Then he nodded and skulked off, hopefully in the same direction as she was about to go.

"We're coming too," came Octavia's voice. She and Bellamy, who was now dismounted and leading the horse by the reins, approached Clarke.

"And us too," said Monty. He had also hung back and waited for Clarke, along with Monroe and Harper.

"Great, party in the war room. Let's go."

They were the last to enter back into the city and the gates of Polis closed behind them.

"Wow Clarke. Just because you do well with an audience doesn't mean we all do," Raven said as she took in the number of people standing in the war room. Clarke rolled her eyes,

"You know, if we'd only just met I'd be telling everyone to clear off. But I know you. You love showing off," Clarke shot back.

Raven pulled a face and wagged the screwdriver she was holding in Clarke's direction. "Damn. You got me."

The room was rather crowded, though it was meant to house large meetings of people. The drone had been placed on top of the war table, it took up nearly the whole surface. Then there were fifteen people in the room, all standing around the table expectantly. It was like they were all waiting for Raven to wave her hands and perform magic on the technology. For all Clarke understood on the subject, she supposed that might as well have been what Raven was planning to do.

"Do you want to clear the room, Raven?" Lexa spoke up.

Raven mulled over the question. "No. But if you are all staying, I want you all at my disposal."

Lexa nodded; "The room is yours to command," she spoke. It was for the benefit of the three other grounders in the room; Aldrin and two extra warriors.

"Great. Okay, Wick, Jasper and Monty, I want you three standing by to help me. Unless I say so, only us four are allowed to touch the drone. Everyone else, grab a candle or a torch if you have one, be ready to point the light where I need it."

There was some shuffling as people rearranged themselves. Clarke found herself holding a candle, along with most of the other people in the room. Marcus and Bellamy had torches, which they held ready to turn on at Raven's request. Raven and her designated squad of tech experts huddled around the table. Clarke glanced around the room and tried not to smile. It looked like some sort of memorial service or ritual was about to take place. Then her mood fouled. She realised that it could indeed turn into their own funeral if Raven failed to find a way to communicate with Jaha.

In the silence, Lexa edged closer to her and began to whisper, "You have faith in Raven's abilities?"

"I do." Clarke said, "She's more than proven herself before." Clarke thought about the bomb on the bridge and the ring of fire at the dropship and thought it was best not to elaborate any further.

Clarke watched as the group of four techies talked among themselves and began prodding at the drone. Well, they were certainly doing something more technical than prodding. But that's what it looked like from Clarke's perspective.

"I wish I had an idea what she was doing," Clarke muttered.

Lexa looked at her and then down at her own lit candle, as if she too was appreciating how ridiculous the scene looked. "We help in whatever way we can."

"Hey Raven," came Monroe's voice. She was on the opposite side of the table to Clarke and was holding a candle in each hand. When Raven turned towards her, Monroe lifted the candles up. "When you get through to Jaha you can tell him we beat him to his City of Light idea."

"When I get through to Jaha, I'm going to tell him to launch the nuke just to stop your jokes." came Raven's retort as she turned back to the task at hand. But then Raven froze and looked towards Lexa, "Just kidding," she explained.

Clarke watched as Lexa raised an eyebrow, "I detected your tone of sarcasm, Raven." There was a beat and then; "Now come. We should not be waxing on about the candles when there is a task at hand."

There were a few sniggers from around the room, even from the Trigeda warriors.

"Nice one, Commander!" Monroe appraised and Lexa gave her a nod in return.

"Well isn't this a punderful little get together." Wick was the next one to jump on the bandwagon. He removed the armour plating from the drone as he spoke and dropped it unceremoniously onto the floor. It landed with a clatter. The inner workings of the drone were now exposed. It looked like a mess of wires, soldering and metal framework to Clarke. Bellamy turned on his torch and pointed it towards the drone.

"Jackpot!" came Monty's voice and he pointed something out to the other three. Clarke craned her neck to try and see what they had found. It was futile to try though.

Raven looked at where Monty was pointing and then glanced up to Clarke with a wide grin. "It's a recon drone, with recording abilities," she said, "Including a microphone. I can do this."

Clarke held back a sigh as she stretched her neck and rolled her shoulders. It must of been an hour at least since Raven's breakthrough and yet still they were waiting. Clarke knew that assembling a two-way radio from the drone probably wasn't simple. Or at least, if she did not know that before, she was very aware now. Raven had silenced every sound of impatience, every grumble, with a death glare or a smart word.

"Don't roll your eyes Commander," came Raven's voice. She hadn't even looked up from what she was doing, her focus on the bits and pieces of tech she was assembling.

"I did no such thing." Lexa retorted.

"You did. I can sense it."

Clarke let out a snigger and offered an apologetic look to Lexa. The fun of standing in a circle with candles had long since worn off and the room had grown more and more tense with each passing second. Everyone knew and respected that Raven needed time. But everyone was also terribly aware that time was exactly what they didn't have.

Clarke felt her body tense up as the fear crept down her spine again. The worry that at any moment, it would be too late. Polis would be bombed without warning, they would all burn. A whole city of people wiped out. Clarke's hands shook and hot wax dripped from the candle onto her hand. She grimaced but made no vocal sound of pain. Still, in a second Lexa had closed the distance between them. She wordlessly swapped their candles, hers being larger and less likely to drip. Clarke did not protest. Instead she accepted the sweet gesture with a little smile and she felt some of the fear fade as her eyes locked with Lexa's.

"Ok, I think I've got this!" Raven's voice made Clarke jump. Clarke blinked a few times and then looked away from her lover and to her friend. Raven was holding something that vaguely resembled a small walkie talkie. She impatiently waggled it towards Clarke. "Come on, lovebirds. Less heart eyes, more saving the world."

Clarke scoffed, but she took Raven's point and rushed over to the war table and grabbed the talkie from Raven's hand.

"Press here," Raven said, pointing to a button on the side of the device.

Clarke took a breath, pressed the button and heard a crackle through the speaker. "Hello?" she said tentatively, "Hello Jaha? Come in Jaha, this is Clarke Griffin."

There was a pause, a collective mounting of anticipation in the room. Everyone was silent until the talkie crackled.

"Clarke?" Thelonius Jaha's voice came through the speaker.

The room broke out into a cheer. Monty clapped Raven on the back and Clarke gave her friend a grateful, proud nod. She lifted the talkie to her mouth.

"Jaha we saw your message. What the hell do you think you are doing?" She could not keep the incredulous anger out of her voice.

"What needs to be done Clarke. Making this world safe for us. So that we can finally live in peace, where we deserve to be. The promised land."

Clarke almost growled back at him. "By wiping out an entire city with a nuclear bomb?"

"Clarke. You don't understand. You think we can have peace with the grounders but we can't. They are not like us. They are feral. Savage."

"Really?" Clarke spat. "Then explain why you are off goodness knows where, whilst the people you claim to be protecting are currently in Polis? Explain why the Trigeda offered us shelter in their capital when Camp Jaha came under threat from a force it could not possibly beat? Explain why the Commander risked her life fighting the Ice Queen in a one-on-one duel to put an end to that threat?" Clarke finally managed to stop the words from pouring and she gritted her teeth. There was another pause.

"You are in Polis?" came Jaha's voice. The words were whispered, panicked.

"Yes. All of us. And we won't leave until you promise not to launch the bomb."

"You're bluffing," Jaha argued.

Clarke rolled her eyes and glanced around the room. She thrust the talkie in the direction of her mother. Abby stepped up and took the device,

"My daughter isn't bluffing, Thelonius. Now stop this madness." Abby spoke.

"Abby?" Jaha replied.

"Yes. This is the Chancellor," Abby said back immediately. The use of her own title was quite clearly deliberate.

There was a longer pause and then Jaha's voice came through the talkie again. His voice was a hoarse, scared whisper; "It's too late."

Clarke felt her heart skip and she clawed the talkie back from her mother; "What do you mean it's too late Jaha?"

"I mean I can't stop the launch now. She won't let me. She is listening."

"Well who is 'she'?" Clarke pushed.

"The AI. Ali. The one who started the war ninety-seven years ago. This is her last objective. To make the world safe for the chosen people." Jaha whispered back.

The line crackled. "Hello Clarke Griffin." came a serene female voice down the talkie.

"Ali, I assume?"

"That's right."

"Ali, whatever you are, you have to stop. You are about to fail your mission. If you launch that nuke, you 'chosen ones' die." Clarke tried manipulation, a skill that came naturally to her.

"No. There is no stopping what has been decided. If the sky people are intent on perishing with the savages, then they are no longer worthy of any other fate. I will find others."

Clarke felt tears forming in her eyes. Tears of anger, offense and fear. "What have you done?" she mumbled.

"What I thought was right." Jaha spoke again. The pain in his own voice was apparent. He had realised his mistake too late. "I'm so very sorry. May we meet again."

"No!" Clarke shouted at the talkie, but the line was dead.

She glanced up and looked at the faces in the room. She saw expressions of shock, of disbelief. They were all about to die at any moment. Clarke was about to drop the talkie. She wanted to run into Lexa's arms, to feel those arms wrap themselves protectively around her one more time before it was too late. The talkie crackled again before she could move,

"Yeah. Kind of think he isn't going to be seeing anyone again," came a new voice.

Clarke was momentarily stunned. Then she lifted the talkie back to her face; "Murphy?" she asked incredulously,

"The one and only."

"Where are you?" Clarke asked,

"Hey princess, I would love to play catch up. But we don't have time. Look, I've been watching Jaha for months. Guy's gone completely insane. But I happen to have a way to stop the nuke. An override code for the launch bay doors." Murphy spoke in his usual biting tone. It used to make Clarke want to take a swing at him, but now it filled her with hope,

"Do it!" she shouted,

"Yeah. I would. But there's a very good chance I'll be in the blast radius and I have no idea if the launch pad will contain the explosion."

Clarke sucked in her breath. She remembered something Lexa had said to her long ago about being a leader. About having to ask people to go die for you. "Murphy, please."

She heard Murphy sniff. There was a beat. "Alright. Fine. I'll be the hero."

"Thank you," was all Clarke could manage in response.

"Ok, override is set. Just going to sit and wait to blow up now." Murphy spoke, then he added; "Hell, I ran out of scotch anyways."

Clarke was about to reply when a distinct rumble came through on the talkie. Then nothing. Clarke pressed the button to speak,

"Murphy? Did it work?"

There was no reply. The room waited. Minutes passed and nobody spoke or moved. Outside, life on the streets of Polis no doubt went on as normal. Its inhabitants blissfully unaware of the crisis unfolding in the Commander's war room. Clarke glanced at Lexa and saw that her jaw was set tight, her eyes cold. Yet more time passed. Clarke wanted to break the silence, to rejoice that they were going to live after all. But she dared not do it. She did not want to tempt their fortunes.

Finally, it was Jasper who broke the silence. "I think we are ok," he whispered, voice hoarse from the extended silence, "Are we ok?"

Then Monty moved and wrapped his old friend in a hug. Jasper accepted the gesture. "I think we're good, yeah."

The other thirteen people in the room, Clarke included, finally felt able to breath a sigh of relief. Then Clarke was being swept up into a hug too by her lover. The moment the tension had broken, Lexa had dashed across the room to her. Clarke felt Lexa's breath against her ear. She buried her face into Lexa's neck and relished in the warmth of Lexa's body. They were still alive.


	7. Chapter 7: Something Old, Something New

**Chapter Seven: Something Old and Something New**

When Lexa's eyes flickered open, it surprised her to find Clarke already awake and watching her. It happened so rarely and never without good reason. Clarke beamed at her. As Lexa became more alert, she felt herself returning the grin as the reason for Clarke's being wide awake came back to her. It was their wedding day.

"Morning," Clarke spoke, her voice still raspy from sleep.

"Good morning, my heart."

There was a pause and Lexa watched as Clarke bit her bottom lip. Then she spoke again. "You know, on Earth before the war it was considered bad luck for the couple to see each other before the wedding ceremony."

Lexa raised her brow at this tidbit of information, "How impractical."

"I know. And rather impossible to achieve on the Ark. Besides, I like this, having this quiet moment together before we get swept up in the hullabaloo."

"Are you nervous, Clarke?" Lexa asked. She was concerned and she knew CLarke could hear the worry in her voice because her lover reached out and cupped Lexa's cheek.

"About marrying you? Never. About the entire city watching me say my vows? A bit."

Lexa let out a breathy laugh, "You know, the ceremony would have been a lot shorter if you hadn't of insisted on vows. The Trigeda wedding is a simple affair."

Clarke rolled her eyes, "I know, I know I've probably shot myself in the foot. But there's some things I want to say. Things you need to hear today." Clarke sighed and rolled onto her back, throwing her arms over her head. "Besides, I've driven all the other healers in the city to distraction practicing them at work. I can't just decide not to do them now."

Lexa rolled over too, so that her torso was hovering above Clarke's. She gazed into Clarke's eyes a moment, before dipping her head for a kiss. It was slow, languid. For once this morning, Lexa felt like she and Clarke had all of the time in the world.

Since saving Polis from nuclear annihilation, the Sky people had opted to stay in the capital a little longer. It was at their Chancellor's urging. At first Lexa had assumed Abby wanted to give everyone a chance to breath and take stock after a major panic. To some degree it was. But then Abby had suggested that Lexa and Clarke shouldn't postpone the wedding longer than necessary. The threat of a bomb strike certainly motivated you to keep moving forward.

The event took little planning because Trigeda wedding customs were so simple. They would go to the meeting place and there they would be married by a general. Still, they had had to wait another fortnight. Lexa had sent riders to request Indra's presence. She wanted one of her most esteemed General's to have the honour of marrying her to Clarke. So they had had to wait for Indra to arrive and in that time, life in Polis had returned to normal again. Lexa had completed negotiations with the desert nation. Clarke had returned to work as a healer. Lexa was always amazed at how quickly they could settle into their routine, even after all they had been through. She hoped it was a skill that they would maintain throughout their lives together, however long or short they may turn out to be.

Lexa finally stopped kissing Clarke and opened her eyes again. She smiled down at her lover. Clarke gave a scoff.

"Look at you. Completely unfazed. I bet you have your own vows memorised perfectly. Just like one of your speeches," Clarke guessed.

"I wouldn't say unfazed, Clarke." Lexa admitted back. Truthfully, her heart was racing. There were more butterflies in her stomach than she could ever remember feeling before.

"Ha. Tell me, have you ever hashed up a speech?"

Lexa thought for a moment and then grinned, "Not a speech exactly. But I did once refer to Gustus as 'Uncle Gus' in a war meeting, not long after I became Commander."

Clarke laughed out loud and Lexa relished the sound. She felt as Clarke wrapped her arms around her neck and tugged her down into a hug, their torsos meeting.

"Lexa, you really are something," Clarke spoke, her breath tickling against Lexa's ear. Lexa shivered.

"Yes. Unwise. For giving you such ammunition against me." Lexa joked,

"I promise I won't tell anyone what an idiot you really are, babe."

Lexa gave a hum. "Be careful. You'll be making more big promises today. Don't overdo them and lose track."

Clarke giggled again, "Yes. Of course, I am going to forget that I married you."

Lexa rolled her eyes, though Clarke could not see her do it.

"No. To remind us both that after today we will in fact be wives, I will always refer to you as 'Mrs Griffin' whenever I'm at a meeting with you."

Lexa picked herself up out of the hug and glared down at Clarke, "I don't have to invite you to any meetings again, you know. And you are going to be 'Heda houmon'."

Clarke gave Lexa an incredulous look. Lexa sighed.

"Fine. I'm going to be 'Mrs Griffin'."

The taking of your spouse's second name was another Ark wedding tradition that Clarke had described to Lexa. It, like the wedding vows, was a pre-war tradition that had survived with the people on the Ark but not those on the ground. Of course, Lexa would not formally take Clarke's surname, there was no need for one. But she wasn't averse to the idea of them using it together like this, like a little in-joke.

Lexa looked down at her wife-to-be a moment longer and then sat upright in the bed. "We should make ourselves decent. Your mother will arrive soon. And Aldrin will be ready to help me dress."

As if on cue, a knock came at the door.

"Clarke, Lexa? It's Abby, are you awake?"

"We'll be with you in a moment, Mom!" Clarke shouted at the door.

Their peaceful moment had come to an end.

Once they were both dressed, Lexa and Clarke made their way to the stable, along with Abby and Aldrin. They mounted up on their own horses. They had decided that Abby and Aldrin would guide the beasts by their reigns. Or rather, Clarke had made the suggestion. She had told Lexa how it was common for a parent to walk their child 'down the aisle' to give them away to their intended. It seemed a strange custom to Lexa. A parent had responsibility over their child, but not ownership. A person gave themselves away. Clarke had laughed at Lexa's assessment and agreed. Still the tradition had remained as a sweet gesture between parent and child. As a sign that the parent was happy to see their child find their happiness with someone. Clarke was keen to give Abby that moment. But Trigeda wedding had no aisles and no altars to speak of. So letting Abby and Aldrin lead them to the meeting place was the best adaptation they had thought of.

Lexa gave a nod to Aldrin as he took the reins of her horse. She felt her breath hitch when she could not stop the image of it being Anya, or Gustus perhaps in his place. One of the people that had raised and protectedd her leading her to her wedding ceremony. She could almost imagine them arguing playfully over who got to give 'their Lexa' away. She pushed the images aside and focused, settling herself in the saddle. She turned her head towards Clarke, took in the sight of her intended sat on her own horse in fresh clothes and her healer's coat. Trigeda couples often married in the garb of their professions since that was such a large part of their identity. Clarke had prefered this over the idea of having a dress made, though Lexa had offered to have it done. Clarke had called that a waste of good fabric. A view shared by Trigeda culture. You had clothes to keep you warm and to help you do your job. Not as decoration.

Aldrin and Abby tugged on the reins and began to lead the two horses forward. The generals had arranged themselves into two lines. As the horses passed, each one drew their sword and then pointed the sharp end towards the ground. It was a sign that today was a peaceful celebration. Most of the generals stayed looking forward. Some glanced up at Lexa and offered brief congratulatory smiles. Lexa bowed her head back in thanks for their well-wishing as she passed by.

The gates into Polis opened and Lexa was met once again with the sight of streets lined with crowds. A great cheer went up as the gates opened to reveal the horses and those standing closest to the gates beamed up at their Commander. Abby and Aldrin both paused, perhaps taken aback by the number of people. But then they spurred the horses forward again, leading them and their riders in a gentle trot towards the meeting circle.

Lexa listened. Amongst the general noise of cheering she could pick out a few phrases. "Congratulations," "Good luck," "Fate bless you both," were all sentiments being shouted out. Just like the victory celebration just over four seasons ago, as they passed, the crowd began to walk behind them. Lexa let the palpable sense of collective happiness wash over her. She felt blessed that so many of her people wanted to share this day with her, with their Commander. That they were seemingly as invested in her happiness as she was in securing theirs.

Lexa glanced over at Clarke and, sensing her gaze, Clarke turned to her. The love in Clarke's eyes was overwhelming and without hesitation, Lexa reached out her hand. When Clarke took it the cheers of the crowd turned into a cacophony. Lexa laughed as Clarke's eyes grew wide at the noise. Lexa squeezed Clarke's hand in reassurance before she let it go.

When Lexa looked forward again she saw that they had almost reached their destination. The meeting circle was already surrounded by people. Abby and Aldrin had to move slow, leading the horses the rest of the way through the congregation to the very edge of the meeting circle. Clarke's closest friends were waiting inside its perimeter, along with Indra. Aldrin held her horse steady as Lexa dismounted. Her eyes immediately settled on a young boy who was fighting to see into the circle from behind the adults. She put a hand on his head and he turned and looked up at her in wide-eyed wonder.

"Go on and stand in the circle," she said in Trigedasleng, loud enough for the adults who had been obstructing his view to hear her. They quickly moved aside and let him pass. The meeting circle comfortably had room for a few hundred people. Of course Clarke's friends came nowhere close to that number. Whilst Clarke busied herself dismounting her own horse, Lexa stepped into the circle so that she could be seen. She held up a hand to silence the crowd.

"I would like to invite all Trigedakru children to be my guests of honour today. Please let them through into the circle." Lexa said in Trigedasleng.

There was a lot of shuffling about as the children came rushing forward at the invitation. They quickly filled up the meeting circle. Lexa had to motion with her hands, ordering the crowd to step backwards to make more room at the front of the gathering. Finally the crowd settled again after the reorganisation and Lexa was satisfied.

She waited for Clarke to stand beside her and then they walked forward together to where Indra was waiting. When they got there, Lexa turned to Aldrin and offered him a smile. They clasped arms and Aldrin gave her forearm a friendly squeeze,

"Congratulations, Commander. My friend."

"Thank you," Lexa said back. He nodded, let her arm go and moved to stand with the children in the circle..

Clarke and her mother were sharing a long hug. Lexa could see that tears were already forming in Abby's eyes. She let her daughter go and sniffled. "I am so very proud of you, Clarke. My baby girl all grown up," she said. Then she glanced towards Lexa. "Look after one another," she said and then she turned and moved to join the group of Clarke's friends.

"Are you both ready?" Indra asked as she came to stand before them. Lexa and Clarke looked to one another and shared a small smile.

"We are," Lexa confirmed.

Indra put up a hand to bring silence and then she began the ceremony with an introduction in Trigedasleng. Lexa had arranged for Lincoln to translate to Clarke's friends.

"People of the Trigeda." Indra spoke, loud and clear; "We are gathered today to witness the union of two people in marriage. Love is a precious thing in the harsh world that we live in. It is to be treasured and celebrated. It is to be respected. The promises that these two lovers are about to make to one another can be broken by no other. Their declarations will be spoken both to one another and to you, the witnesses. So that all may know that these two souls are bound together. Today, may we share in their happiness and tomorrow and each day after that, may we be inspired by their devotion to one another." Indra paused and looked from the crowds to Lexa and Clarke. She gave a rare smile, "If the couple would clasp arms."

Lexa reached out and clasped Clarke's forearm with her hand. Clarke did the same. Their eyes met and never looked away.

Indra looked to the crowd again. "Witness this, the union of our Commander, Lexa of the Tree Nation and Clarke Griffin of the Sky Nation. Lovers, make your declarations."

Lexa took a breath. She began the customary Trigeda vow; "I Commander Lexa of the Tree Nation pledge myself to you, Clarke Griffin of the Sky Nation. From this moment, we are bound in mind, body and soul. What's mine is yours and what's your's is mine. Fate allowed us to find one another and now I make you a promise to stay beside you, to protect you and to love you. May we be blessed with many happy days together in these bodies, until it is time for our souls to move on. May the happiness we forge together give my soul peace and may it linger as lasting strength in every life after this one. Our souls are entwined. From now I am yours, until my fight is over." Lexa kept her voice even and clear, although the look of adoration on Clarke's face made her heart ache.

Indra regarded her and said; "You have made your declaration, Commander Lexa of the Tree Nation. Do you promise to honour it?"

Lexa smiled and gazed deeply into Clarke's eyes; "I do."

She waited for Clarke to repeat the vow back.

Clarke took a moment and then began. The Trigedasleng sounded more natural than ever coming from her mouth. "I Clarke Griffin of the Sky Nation pledge myself to you, Commander Lexa of the Tree Nation. From this moment, we are bound in mind, body and soul. What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. Fate allowed us to find one another and now I make you a promise to stay beside you, to protect you and to love you. May we be blessed with many happy days together in these bodies, until it is time for our souls to move on. May the happiness we forge together give my soul peace and may it linger as lasting strength in every life after this one. Our souls are entwined. From now, I am yours until my fight is over." Clarke's voice was hoarse by the time we finished and Lexa squeezed harder at her forearm.

"And you have made your declaration, Clarke Griffin of the Sky Nation. Do you promise to honour it?"

Clarke smiled and spoke; "I do."

Indra regarded both of them. Usually it would be done, but there was more. "Now, the couple would like to exchange some words of their own. It is a tradition among the Sky people to say their own vows on their wedding day. A tradition that they have kindly agreed to share with us on this special occassion. These vows will be spoken in English, so that Clarke's friends may hear them. I would ask that any warriors in the crowd translate the words to those around them who wish to understand." Indra looked to Clarke, "Why don't you go first. Show our Commander how it's done." Lexa could detect mirth in Indra's voice. It was a special day indeed.

Lexa felt as Clarke's thumb brushed against her arm. Clarke began to speak; "When I came down to Earth, I had no idea what I'd find. But my experiences on the ground have far surpassed any guesses I could have made. Putting it mildly." Clarke paused as the crowd laughed.

"I've done things that I will carry with me forever. Made decisions that I will always regret. But falling in love with you, Lexa, will never be one of those regrets. Actually, calling it a decision seems strange. To me, it feels more like an inevitability. We've had our own obstacles, some almost impossibly high… But we've made it this far.

Never have I met someone who understands me the way you do. Who doesn't even have to think of the right thing to say because with you, words aren't needed."

Lexa grinned at those words, though her stomach felt like it had migrated to the back of her throat and she could feel her cheeks grow hot. But still, Clarke had more to say.

"Though when you do speak, I can hear the respect, the desire to help, the love in your voice. And that is more precious to me than you'll ever know.

We've fought through a lot together. We've seen each other at our best and our worst. And I know there will be plenty more times when our commitment is tested. But if my time on the ground has taught me anything, it's that the best things in life are the ones we have to fight hardest for. So I promise to keep fighting for us, whether it's fighting for one more day, an hour or even another second. Because every moment with you is the happiest of my life. Lexa, I love you and I am going to cherish being able to call you my wife."

Lexa didn't think she had ever felt so moved by someone's words before. That those words had come from Clarke meant everything to her. She felt the tears welling in her eyes and she did not attempt to stop them from falling. She let out a long breath.

"And now it's your turn, Commander." Indra said to her, "Good luck following that," she added quietly.

Lexa laughed. Clarke's practice had certainly paid off and now it was time to see if her own had. Of course, Lexa had not shared her vows with anyone, she had just gone over them herself again and again. Now she almost wished she had opened up, at least shared them with Alldrin and asked for a second opinion. Lexa was more than aware that words were not her forte, especially when speaking English. Still she had promised to share in this tradition with Clarke, so she braced herself and spoke as clearly as she could.

"Clarke Griffin, you have no idea what you have done to me. And I don't think I have the words to tell you. Still, I will give it my best." Lexa paused and made sure to breathe, "I can hardly believe my fortune, that you dropped down from the stars into my forest. At first I thought you were invaders. A misjudgement. But know that the moment that I looked up into your eyes for the first time, I knew that you were going to be someone important. To me."

She paused again when Clarke gave a warm smile at her words. She felt her heart skip, exactly as it had done on the day she had just talked about. Truthfully, Lexa had looked up from her dagger at Clarke's face and fallen for the woman's beauty immediately. When Clarke had dared to talk back to her in that wry, confident tone, Lexa had known she was done for.

"I'm not an easy person to be around." she began again and it felt strange to be talking so openly about herself in front of her people. She felt like she was baring her soul, "I am cold. I am ruthless. I am the Commander. But you had the will and the patience to see beyond that. You saw Lexa. A young woman like you, hidden behind so many walls. Walls that began to crumble the moment we met. I learned to trust you. I learned to let you see past the Commander's facade. And I learned that what was behind those walls was not a damaged and unworthy soul, but one that was strong and ready to believe again. You have given me a second chance Clarke, in more ways than you'll ever know. Thank you. I love you, my beautiful wife." Lexa tried her best to sound as sincere as possible as she said the last eight words of her vows. She thought she must have managed because Clarke's eyes were now filled with tears too.

"Thank you both." Indra said to them. Then she announced to the gathered crowd, "As a General of the Tree Nation I have the authority to declare this union legitimate. The witnesses present today have heard your declarations and your promise to honour those words. Congratulations, you are now married. You may end the ceremony with a kiss."

Lexa and Clarke finally unclasped their hands as Lexa stepped towards her wife. She cupped Clarke's cheek with her hand and leaned down for a gentle kiss. Polis erupted into cheers around them. Lexa pulled away after a while and rested her forehead against Clarke's.

"I love you," Lexa whispered, voice cracked with emotion.

Clarke smiled warmly; "Ai hod yu in sentaim, Mrs Griffin."


	8. Chapter 8: We are Grounders Now

**Chapter Eight: We Are Grounders Now**

Clarke dropped her pack onto the floor, sighed and looked up. The mountainside loomed before her, dauntingly high even on the gentlest slope. She took in the view and thought back to the drawing she had done. She'd forgotten about both it and the second she had handed it to in the chaos after Jaha's message. Now she remembered every detail. She imagined the buildings she had sketched come to life. How they would stretch up the slope of the mountain, reaching towards the sky. It would take a long time and a lot of effort to achieve, but Clarke could not wait to see it happen. A proper home for her people down on Earth. A place they could stay in, grow from and defend as their very own.

For now, the Sky people would have to make do with tents. After the delay in leaving Polis, the supply carts had had to be stocked again. A large camp would be made at the foot of the mountain, so that everyone at least had rudimentary shelter. Then water and food would be the next priority. The hunter seconds that Lexa had ordered to accompany the Sky people would soon be missed back in Polis. The Sky people would have to learn hunting techniques quickly. The Trigeda builders however faced a much longer stay with the Sky people in their new territory. Building of permanent structures wouldn't start yet. Not until the necessary materials had been salvaged from the interior of the mountain. Clarke's expression soured at the thought of people having to go back into Mt. Weather.

"Are you well, Clarke?" Lexa asked. She was standing beside her and similarly appraising the view before them.

"I'm fine. I knew it was going to be a struggle, coming back here. Guess you just don't realise how much until you arrive though."

Lexa turned to face her and tilted her head, obviously weighing up what to say. "It's a defensible place, especially with a good building layout. And there are several streams running down the mountain that could be diverted wherever you need water. Soil is good around the foot of the mountain. This territory is a gift. One you have every right to take."

Clarke gave a weak smile. She appreciated Lexa's efforts to focus on the positives. She couldn't blame her mother at all for accepting Lexa's offer of the land. It was the ideal spot and undeniably beautiful. But still it meant building on top of a mass grave. A grave that Clarke had filled herself. "I can't wait to see what my people build here. But I'm glad that I have my own home to go back to," Clarke admitted.

Lexa looked like she was about to move closer, but she stopped when Bellamy and Raven approached them.

"Not to interrupt the honeymoon or anything, but these tents aren't going to build themselves." Raven prodded. She referred to an old Earth tradition of a newly married couple going away together. Another impossible tradition to hold onto on the Ark.

Clarke turned to her two friends and shrugged, "Just admiring the view."

"Gross." Raven shot back.

"I was talking about the mountain," Clarke explained with a sigh.

"We should go and help, Clarke," Lexa spoke softly. She was obviously so used to Raven's humour by now to be completely unfazed by it. "Or at least I should help whilst you stand out of the way," she added in her own wry tone. Maybe she was unfazed by Raven's humour because she could be as bad at times, Clarke mused. The small group began to move away from the mountainside to where the larger crowd were gathered.

"Hey I might not be able to figure out a tent, but I can put a person's innards back together," Clarke protested.

"Amazing isn't it?" Bellamy finally spoke up. He'd been watching the back and forth between the three ladies with a bemused expression. Clarke thought that perhaps he enjoyed seeing everyone getting along so well almost as much as she did. "We have the doctor who can't put up a tent." He gestured at Clarke. "And the rocket scientist who managed to burn soup," then he pointed at Raven. She made a face at him.

Lexa let out a snigger. "We all have our weaknesses, Bellamy."

"Yeah and we all know your's is jumpy blondes with generous cleav-" Raven started,

"Go any further and I will end you," Clarke warned.

Raven raised an eyebrow, "See. Jumpy."

The four of them approached one of the carts that was full of wooden tent poles. As they approached, Aldrin moved and joined them, making a team of five.

"I see that there are already enough people working on the larger tents. We should concentrate on the smaller two-man ones for sleeping. Each will need one large pole and four shorter ones." Lexa instructed. Between them they collected enough poles for three tents.

"I'll go fetch the canvases," Raven offered. Clarke gave her a nod and her friend went off.

"Right, where to?" Bellamy asked as he readjusted his grip on the materials he was carrying. Clarke watched as Lexa glanced around.

"This way," she started walking towards the tree line until she reached a small area of flat land with good tree coverage. "We need to build the tents in a circle. A campfire in the middle."

Raven rejoined the group with the tent canvases. She did not come alone. Lincoln, Octavia, Monroe and Harper were also with her, carrying their own tent materials.

"Room for a few more?" Monroe asked.

"How many?" Lexa asked.

"Three. Monty is helping to construct the communal tent, asked if we'd build him somewhere to sleep."

Lexa gave a nod, "There is room." Clarke watched as Lexa glanced around on the floor. The Commander located a stick and used it to draw a large circle in the dirt. Then she marked six spaces around the perimeter. "Aldrin and I will construct our own tents first. Watch us closely and see if you can copy. Lincoln, you may as well start with Octavia, too." Lexa spoke. Clarke felt herself smiling again. Lexa's voice was almost light. Clarke had just discovered that her wife had a passion for teaching others. "Clarke, why don't you try and build Monty's tent for him?"

Clarke let out a groan, "I thought I was supposed to stay out of the way?" Still, she gathered up the poles and canvas she would need and went to stand by one of the spots Lexa had marked.

Lexa and Aldrin began to construct their tents and the rest of the group began to follow what they were doing. They were very simple structures. The four shorter poles formed triangles at either end and the longer pole balanced on top of them. The canvas was thrown over and secured with sharpened rocks, like arrowheads. Soon, they had constructed six sleeping tents, even Clarke.

Lexa inspected the work they had done. Clarke couldn't help but to imagine a younger Lexa, new second, having her own efforts appraised by Anya. She wondered if Lexa had been excited about getting to train her own apprentice one day. Only she was identified as the new Commander so that that could never happen.

"Good," was all the praise they got. "You just need sleeping mats and a blanket."

Monroe had already crawled into her tent, "It's a bit of a squeeze," came her voice from inside the small structure.

"You and Harper will have to snuggle up then," Octavia answered back.

Clarke didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for Monroe for the teasing she had to endure. But then Harper giggled herself.

"It's not like you don't sleep practically on top of me anyway," Harper said towards the tent Monroe was sat in. Clarke's eyes widened and she wondered when that had happened and why she didn't already know about it.

Raven saw her surprised expression, "So out of the loop Clarke,"

Clarke shrugged, "I've been busy. Working. And getting hitched."

"To a regular match-maker. Who would have guessed it?" Bellamy said and he gave a sly look in Lexa's direction.

"Hey. I was totally going to say that dare first. The Commander stole my idea!" Raven whined.

"Then you should learn to recognise the good opportunities from the bad ones. And don't let the good ones pass you by or get taken from you." Lexa responded. Her voice was even, but her eyes darted from Raven to Bellamy as she said the last part. Clarke furrowed her brow. She got the feeling that Lexa and Bellamy were sharing some sort of in-joke. The very notion of those two having an in-joke in the first place was quite laughable. Yet there was undeniably words going unspoken between them. Clarke thought hard about Lexa's words and found her own eyes darting from Bellamy to Raven and then back again. She almost gasped when the thought struck her.

"That's great advice, babe," Clarke agreed, "You're on a roll with the wisdom today."

Lexa smirked at her, "I'm always 'on a roll' with the wisdom, Clarke. You just choose not to heed it."

"Sick burn, Commander," came Monty's voice. He had rushed over to the group from wherever he had been working. "Clarke, your Mom wants to show you something. This way."

Wordlessly, Clarke began to follow Monty. The others fell in behind her too. He lead them through a veritable construction site of tents and started up the mountain. They walked up the slope for a while until they finally came to a natural plateau. It was covered in grass and wild flowers. Abby was there waiting, along with Marcus.

"Mom? You wanted to show me something?" Clarke asked, wanting to get straight to business. She was a little peeved that Monty had failed to mention how much climbing would be involved. Her mother turned towards her voice and beamed at her. She stretched out her arms and motioned to the flat expanse of land.

"Our capital's meeting place," Abby announced, "Well, eventually."

Clarke glanced around the spot again and gave an appreciative spot, "A good spot," she agreed. She turned and looked back down the mountain. She watched the crowd of people working together to construct their temporary shelter. "We'll get there, Mom."

Abby walked over and stood beside Clarke. "We will."

"You know," Marcus spoke as he approached too, "We still need to think of a name for the settlement. I doubt anyone wants to live in a place named after Jaha after what's happened."

Clarke wanted to nod vigorously in agreement, but then she had a thought. "Not that Jaha, anyway," she spoke.

Abby and Marcus regarded her with sympathetic smiles. Clarke pondered a moment.

"Clarke's right." Bellamy said, "Wells was the best of us when we first got sent down here. Kind. Selfless. A real hero."

Clarke felt her chest tighten at hearing Bellamy, of all people, speak about her best friend like that. She bit the inside of her cheek and had to force back tears.

"Then I would be proud to be Chancellor of a city named in his honour," Abby said.

Clarke thought about her best friend, about how hopeful he had been that they could all learn to get along. She imagined how happy he would be now, seeing the first group of Sky people to reach the Earth being so close. And on top of that, the Sky people as a whole finding friends among those already living on the ground. Everyone was united, just like how the Ark had been born. Clarke thought back to her childhood, remembered practicing her lines for the Unity Day parade with Wells. She smiled,

"Unity Wells," she said aloud.

"Unity Wells," Abby whispered back. She nodded, "I like it." Then Abby turned to face down the mountain and she shouted, "Can I have everyone's attention please!"

The bustling below came to a halt and the Sky people looked up towards their Chancellor. Her mother's voice always carried well over large distances, Clarke mused. The thought spurred several more childhood memories.

"I am currently standing on what will become the meeting place of our new home. The Skaigeda capital." There was a cheer and some clapping from the crowd. "Of course, a capital city needs a name. One that reflects the values of it's inhabitants. When we first sent down one hundred of our children to see if the Earth was survivable, there was one young man on the dropship who stood out. He got himself onto the ship out of loyalty to my daughter. As her best friend, he wanted nothing more than to protect her. But when he came down to the Earth he far surpassed even that selflessness. He showed admirable courage. He did not let being in an unfamiliar place destroy who he was. A kind and decent person. I can vouch for this personally because I knew him since he was a child. That young man was Wells Jaha. He truly represented what goodness, what unassailable altruism we are capable of. As humans. As Sky people. Therefore, it is my honour to name our new home 'Unity Wells' in his memory. May he forever serve as an example to all of us and may his unwavering kindness be the foundations on which we build our new society."

The cheering was raucous and undeniably optimistic. Clarke put a hand on her mother's shoulder and squeezed, "Thank you," she whispered.

Thankfully, the night was a dry one. Clarke fidgeted in the tent and wondered how unpleasant they would be to sleep in in damper conditions. The Sky people would have to prioritise building permanent- and waterproof- sleeping areas first. Her worrying was interrupted when the canvas opened to reveal Lexa. She crawled into the space and flopped onto her sleeping mat.

"You weren't waiting up for me, were you, my heart? I was helping to translate Abby's speech to some second's who do not know English. The name you have chosen seems popular."

Clarke grinned at the news. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at her wife, "I'm glad. And I wasn't waiting for you. I was actually wondering how unpleasant these tents would be to sleep in when it's raining."

"From experience? Awful," Lexa replied, "Your people have a lot of hard work ahead of them."

"Still I guess rain seeping in is better than air seeping out into the vacuum of space," Clarke mused. Lexa raised her eyebrows. "There is no air in space. The Earth's atmosphere- the mixture of gases around us- is held by the Earth's gravitational pull. But go fifty miles straight up and there is no more atmosphere."

Lexa concentrated. Clarke could see Lexa's mind work. She sorted through the information Clarke had given until she nodded in comprehension. "What a strange place you come from, Clarke of the Sky people."

"I don't know. Earth's turned out to be a pretty wild ride."

"Has it now?" Lexa laughed and raised her eyebrows.

Clarke scoffed, "That's it, you are not spending any more time with Raven."

"I heard that!" came Raven's voice, presumably from the tent next door. Clarke was reminded again of just how makeshift the tents were. They we not at all soundproof.

"On a related note, I'd like to ask you both to refrain from any more 'wild rides'. There are some things friends do not need to know about each other," Raven added.

"This coming from the person who asked Lexa to give a practical demonstration of her favourite type of 'wild ride'." It was Bellamy's voice that chimed in. It was coming from the same direction as Raven's.

"Raven? Are you sharing a tent with Bellamy?" Clarke pried. She gave Lexa a wicked grin.

There was a pause and then, "None of your business,"

"Yes you are. I saw you go in!" a new voice shouted. It was Monroe.

"Oh my gosh. Can't anyone keep secrets in this friendship group?" Raven protested.

"Raven. Pot/kettle again. You literally blabbed to Monty about my crush on him,"

"And look where that's gotten you both!" Raven shot back.

"Also, I did not know about that either, Nate. So you just walked yourself into your own trap there." Clarke spoke, identifying the other new voice as belonging to Nate Miller.

"Okay, can we agree that this little circle has turned into a bit of a couple's retreat and shut up now?" Octavia's voice came into the fray.

"Wait, Aldrin is the odd one out!" Raven called back.

There was a loud harrumph from the tent next to Clarke and Lexa's. "And I am more than happy to keep it that way, if you will take my meaning, thank you Raven." Aldrin spoke clearly.

"Fair." Raven replied, "I guess if you wanted someone, your Commander Cupid would have set you up by now anyway," she added. The matter was settled. The circle of tents finally grew quiet.

"Looking forward to going home tomorrow, Clarke?"

"Even more than I was five minutes ago," Clarke replied to Lexa in jest. Her sad smile gave her away though.

"You'll be able to visit again soon enough, Clarke. I will accompany you whenever I am able. Now that the Sky Nation is part of the coalition, it does fall under my overall command. I have a responsibility to see that Unity Wells is built adequately."

Clarke reached out and stroked Lexa's cheek. Her wife smiled and closed her eyes, leaning closer into the contact. "You are amazing, you know?" Clarke said, quietly now so that nobody else would hear.

"I think I must be, for I have managed to convince you to spend your life with me."

Clarke's response was to lean in for a kiss. Eventually, their lips parted and they settled onto their mats ready to sleep. They had the journey back to Polis to face tomorrow. Clarke closed her eyes, her head resting against Lexa's chest. She marvelled at how she had gotten to where she was. Falling asleep in the arms of her wife. Surrounded by her friends. Looking forward to going home. For the first time in such a long while, Clarke fell asleep feeling nothing but hopeful for the future. Both she and her people had found their place on the Earth. It had been quite the journey to get there. It had tested every single one of them, Clarke perhaps most of all. But finally it felt like it was time to stop surviving and start living.

THE END.


End file.
